Cold Front
by Trufreak89
Summary: Things start to thaw out between the two girls when Paige comes to Emily's rescue during a heavy snow storm.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Cold Front

**Summary: **Things start to thaw out between the girls when Paige comes to Emily's rescue during a heavy snow storm.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own the show or anything related to it.

**Rating:** M (Mostly just to be on the safe side)  
**  
A/N: **First PLL fic. I only started watching the show last week, but hopefully everyone's in character. This is set in early season 2 so possible spoilers. I intended for it to be a one-shot, but I might extend it if anyone's interested in a longer fic.

"No, no, no! Don't do this to me! Please!" Emily groaned as she turned the key in the ignition of her car for the umpteenth time and listened to the engine groan and rattle in response before it cut out completely. "Damn it!" Emily slammed her hands against the wheel in frustration. Her breath came out like a cloud of smoke in front of her as the frosty night air bit at her cheeks. She had been driving home from a swim meet when the car had cut out, killing the radio and the heat along with the engine. The steady stream of snow that had been blanketing the town had turned in to a full on blizzard and the cold was really starting to get to the teen as she sat in the dead car.

Her fingers were stiff as she fished her phone out of her pocket and tried to call Hannah. The signal was flickering between one bar and no service. The phone was about as much use as the car. It was late and few other cars had passed her on her way home, without a signal she was on her own. She tried to think about what people were supposed to do when they were trapped in cars in the middle of a snow storm. Should she stay in the car, and possibly freeze if no one found her in time? Or start walking along the road back towards the school? And freeze if she couldn't make it back? Neither option seemed very appealing.

As cold as it was outside in the snow the temperature in the car would quickly plummet and, without any lights, any passing cars could easily drive straight past her, or worse, in to her. Zipping up her coat and pulling on her mittens she decided to brave the weather outside. The school was only a mile or so away and there were houses close by. If she could just make it to one of them then maybe she could phone Hannah or her mum and ask for a ride home.

She pulled her backpack up on to her shoulder and set off along the side of the road. The snow was falling thick and fast and she could barely see her own legs moving out in front of her. Her sneakers were not made to face the snow and she found her feet slipping out from under her with practically every other step she took. The muscles in her legs ached in protest as she ploughed on through the snow. She'd given it her all at the meet and had been training pretty hard all week. Her body was running on empty and her stomach was growling with hunger.

She tried to take her mind off the cold by focusing on what she would have for dinner when she eventually made it home. She was still fantasizing about pizza and hot apple pie ten minutes later. She'd barely made it to the end of the road and her mind was beginning to grow as numb as her face and fingers. She slipped on a patch of ice hidden just below the snow and let out a strangled cry as she went crashing down to the ground. The snow broke her fall, but it soaked through her jeans and the cold bit in to her skin like a rabid dog. As her body started shaking she couldn't summon the energy to get back on to her feet. She sat there kneeling in the snow and struggling to keep her eyes open. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally and she just couldn't find the energy to carry on.

When her heavy lids finally fell she was met with a blinding light and she muttered a prayer under her breath as she felt her body slumping forwards, the last of her strength finally leaving her as she gave in to the light. "Emily?" Her tranquillity was broken as she heard someone screeching her name. She tried to open her eyes, but it felt like her eyelids had frozen together.  
"Emily? What are you doing out here?" Another voice was calling her name and she felt a pair of arms hook under her armpits as she was pulled up to her feet. Another pair of hands were on her face, cupping her ice cold cheeks. She felt a spark of hope as she realised the lights had been headlamps from a car. Someone had found her.  
"Emily? It's Paige." The spark erupted in to a fire and Emily found the strength to open her eyes. She was met with the sight of Paige's fiery red hair poking out from under her hat and her big brown eyes full of worry.  
"Paige?" Her throat was raw as she choked out the other girl's name. "My car…it…it stopped…I-"

"Let's get back in the car." Mr McCullers grunted as he took on most of Emily's weight and led the teen through the snow over to the waiting SUV. Paige opened the back door for them and climbed in after Emily while her father got in the front and pulled his door shut. He rubbed his hands together as he stamped his feet to loosen the snow from his expensive leather shoes. The snow had taken most of the town by surprise. He cranked up the heat and Emily was instantly grateful as a wave of hot air hit her in the face.

Paige helped her out of her soaking jacket and mittens and pulled a thick blanket out of the trunk to drape over her. Emily's teeth were chattering as she thanked her and clung to the blanket. The thick itchy wool irritated her soft skin, but it was warm and that was all that mattered. Paige's hand rubbing circles on the small of her back did a pretty good job of warming her up too. "What in God's name were you doing out there Emily?" Nick McCullers finally asked after he'd given the teenager a minute to compose herself.

"My car, it just died. I couldn't get a signal on my phone so I thought I could walk it back to the school…but then I fell and…"Emily's lips were dry and chapped from the cold as she ran her tongue over them. From the corner of her eye she caught Paige watching her lips and she felt the familiar fluttering in her stomach that came from being around the other girl. She and Paige hadn't seen each other much since Emily had insisted they could only be friends, and of course Samara coming along had made things all the more awkward between them, so outside of the pool they'd hardly said a word to each other in weeks. "Thank you so much for stopping."  
"No problem." Nick was still nursing his wounds from Emily's mother giving him a very public dressing down, but even he wouldn't have just driven past the teen. "Thank Paige; she spotted your Sharks jacket."  
"Thank you." Emily repeated as she huddled under the blanket, aware that Paige's small hand was still resting on her back.

"I'll drive you home before the roads get too bad; a few of them are already closed off." Nick put the SUV in to gear and the snow crunched under the tyres.  
"I'm not staying at home. Mom went to Texas with Dad; I'm staying with Hanna and her mom to finish the school year here."  
"Hanna Marin? Half the roads on that side of town have already been closed because of the snow." Nick frowned at the heavy falling snow that his wipers were having trouble clearing from the windscreen. "I suppose you can stay with us until the snow eases off. I'll call Ms Marin when we get back."  
"Uh…thanks." Emily wasn't sure how to feel about the prospect of staying over at the McCullers' house; given her past with Paige. Beside her, the other girl seemed just as apprehensive as Emily as she drew her hand back.

They rode in silence the rest of the way back to the McCullers' and Emily was grateful to be able to feel her toes again as she climbed out of the back of the car and followed Paige and her father inside. The house was similar in size and appearance to the one Emily had grown up in a few blocks over. "Emily, why don't you go on and have a nice hot shower and Paige here will find you some dry clothes to change in to." Nick pulled off his coat and gave his daughter's shoulder a gentle squeeze, as though reminding her to be on her best behaviour around their guest. He'd known Emily's parents a long time and held a huge amount of respect for her father. When he had gone on his rant at the school it hadn't been personal. He had simply been trying to help his daughter

Emily thanked him again for his hospitality before following Paige upstairs. She felt like she was walking to her own execution as she dragged her feet, dreading being alone with the smaller girl. "Paige, I-"  
"Bathroom's through there." The redhead cut her off as she pointed towards a door on the left. "Toss your clothes outside and I'll put them through the wash." She couldn't look her in the eye and Emily ducked her own head as she tucked her wet hair behind her ear. She mumbled another 'thanks' before scurrying in to the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

She turned on the shower and peeled off her damp clothes as she waited for the water to warm up. She left her clothes in a heap by the door and stepped under the searing hot spray. The water felt like heaven pouring down on her skin and she just stood there, letting the stream kneed her aching muscles. "Emily?" She heard a knock on the door and almost jumped.  
"Yeah?" She pushed her hair back from her face and turned away from the spray to avoid getting water in her mouth.  
"You didn't leave your clothes outside." Paige sounded irritated, putting on her usual angry-at-the-whole-world-front.  
"Oh. Sorry. They're by the door." The other girl was momentarily silent before Emily heard the bathroom door click open. The girls had changed in front of each other a million times before, though Emily was thankful she was hidden behind the shower curtain. She waited until she heard the door close again before picking up a bottle of honey and almond shower gel and rubbing it in to her skin. The scent of the gel quickly filled the small room and after another ten minutes of soaking Emily felt relaxed enough to face her unexpected hosts. Shutting off the water and stepping out of the shower she grabbed a fluffy pink towel that was hanging on a rail and wrapped it around her. She stepped out of the safety of the bathroom, dressed in her borrowed towel, and went in search of Paige and some clothes.

"Nice room." She stood at the door to Paige's room and offered the other girl a hesitant smile. Paige looked up from her dresser and caught sight of the other girl in the towel. Her eyes raked over Emily's form, from her long dark hair hanging down at her shoulders, to her long lean legs poking out from underneath the towel. She met Emily's eyes and cleared her throat as she turned her attention back to the dresser. "These should fit." She handed her a pair of sweatpants and a baggy T-shirt. "You're little more…um…well-endowed than me… I'll let you get changed." Paige blushed before making a hasty retreat out of her own room.

"You ok, Kiddo?" Nick quizzed as he noticed his daughter's red cheeks as she entered the kitchen.  
"Fine." She grumbled, heading straight to the fridge for a can of coke. She changed her mind at the last minute and went in to one of the cupboards for to retrieve a jar of cocoa. A warm drink would be better for her near frozen teammate.  
"You sure? If you don't want Emily sleeping in your room I can-"  
"Jeez, dad! Just because she's gay it doesn't mean she's going to try and jump me in the middle of the night!" She snapped as she banged about getting mugs for the hot cocoa and putting a pan of milk on the stove to boil.  
"Actually, I just meant 'cause you girls don't really get on." Nick tried to defend himself from the little ball of hellfire that was storming around the kitchen.  
"We get on just fine!"  
"Ok then. You girls enjoy your cocoa, I'm going to call Ms Marin and let her know Emily's staying with us tonight. Here, give this to Emily." He handed her a bowl of steaming hot soup that he'd had in the microwave and Paige put it on a tray along with the two mugs.

She made her way back upstairs and took a deep breath before juggling the tray in one hand to knock on the door. "I'm ready." Emily called out to her, her voice huskier than usual due to her earlier exposure to the snow. Paige closed her eyes, trying not to think about how many times she'd fantasised about having Emily in her room, saying just those words to her. When Paige finally walked in to the room Emily was sitting crossed legged on her bed, but she was a little more dressed than she usually was in the other girl's fantasies. She waswearing Paige's clothes though and as the redhead placed the tray down on her bedside table she caught the scent of her almond body-wash and the butterflies in her stomach started fluttering again.

"Wow, this is amazing." Emily beamed at her as she sipped the cocoa, the hot sugary drink warming her through and pepping her up. "Sugar feels so great right now." Paige knew exactly what the other girl meant. In the days leading up to a meet their diets could be pretty restrictive, especially when it came to sugar. Paige took a seat on the edge of her bed and opened the drawer of her bedside cabinet to reveal a large bar of chocolate. She handed it over to her fellow swimmer. Ignoring the other girl's protests, Emily snapped the bar in to two halves and handed one back to her. Their fingers grazed against each other and Paige almost jumped off the bed. She felt jumpy and nervous having Emily in her room; on her bed.

"I'm going to get changed." Paige sat the chocolate aside as she got to her feet and pulled out some pyjamas from her dresser. She headed out of the room and slunk in to the bathroom to change in to the pair of shorts and the t-shirt she'd picked out from her dresser. After splashing some water on her face she returned to her room and found Emily nibbling at the chocolate bar. Her soup bowl was empty, the same as her cocoa mug. She'd been near starving after the meet and had been more than grateful for the warm meal.

She frowned as she watched Paige take a few tentative steps in to the room. "Why did you leave the room? We've changed in front of each other like a million times."  
"Not in my bedroom." Paige shrugged, not making a whole lot of sense to the other girl. She knew exactly why she had left the room for each of them to change; a half-naked Emily and a bed in the same room was just too much temptation. Emily seemed to follow her logic and blushed as she ducked her head and carried on eating her chocolate. Things had grown awkward pretty fast and Paige was at a loss for what to do with the gorgeous girl sitting on top of her bed; actually, she had a fair few ideas of just what to do with Emily Fields, but following through on any of them would probably make things even more awkward between them.

"Are you still swimming at nights?" Emily quizzed, trying to make conversation as Paige sat down on the end of her bed.  
"Are you still dating Samara?" She shot back, instantly on the defensive; and instantly regretting it as she watched Emily's expression fall.  
"We're not dating. She doesn't know whether she wants to be exclusive-"  
"Really? Just how many gorgeous girls does she have drooling over her?" Paige scoffed. For a second she thought she'd put her foot in it again, but Emily's lips curled up in to a small smile as she rolled her eyes.  
"I'll ignore the sarcasm and take that as a compliment."  
"You should." Paige tried a smile of her own and was rewarded with a crimson blush that made its way across Emily's cheeks.

Paige had never been very good at putting her feelings in to words and quite often she ended up saying the wrong thing; especially around Emily. She wanted to tell her that she was beautiful. She wanted to tell her that Samara was an idiot for not wanting to have Emily all to herself, and most of all she wanted to tell her that _she, _Paige McCullers,wanted her all to herself; but they were stuck in a strange place and the last thing she wanted was to push Emily any further away from her. So she kept quiet as Emily suggested watching a movie and got up to browse Paige's well stocked DVD collection. She was impressed with her vast array of horror films. She had most of Emily's favourites.

"I like this one- ugh!" Emily winced as she reached for one of the DVDs that was higher up and she felt something tearing in her side. The usual aches and pains she associated with training were getting worse. Every meet seemed to be taking more and more out of her. She clutched at her side as she cursed under her breath and failed to notice Paige getting up off the bed and going over to her.  
"What happened?" Emily jumped as Paige's small hand pressed against her side. Her reaction wasn't from the pain though, the touch had been unexpected and her mind was already racing with inappropriate thoughts of the other girl without her actually touching her. It didn't go unnoticed by the redhead. "Jeez Ems, I was checking your side, not going for your pants!" Paige grumbled, pulling her hand back like the soft flesh of Emily's hip side had burnt it.

"I know that. I'm sorry." Emily mumbled, unable to look her in the eye. She used her other arm to reach for the DVD she'd been going for and presented it to Paige with a forced smile. "Let's just watch this one." She shuffled over to the other girl's bed as Paige put the movie on and then knocked off the lights. She paused with her hand on the switch.  
"Sorry, it's just habit. Do you want the lights on?"  
"No, it's fine. Scary movies should be watched in the dark." Emily managed a more authentic smile as Paige shrugged and joined her on her bed.  
"Like this is even scary." She scoffed as she picked up the cover of '28 Days Later'. "You want scary, watch _Night of the Living Dead!_"

Emily rolled her eyes. It really was always all or nothing with the other girl. "I have, like a thousand times. We can watch that one next." She made herself comfortable as she lay on her side and pulled one of the cushions against her chest. She loved horror movies, and had seen nearly every zombie movie ever made, but that didn't mean she didn't still jump at the scary bits. Paige sat perched on the end of the bed, still unable to lie down and relax with the other girl lying beside her. It took her almost half of the movie to finally make herself comfortable, even then she was lying on her front with her arms tucked under her chin; to stop her hands from wandering.

Emily jumped at some lame gory scene and the redhead couldn't help but chuckle. Horror movies had never really bothered her. She'd never been scared of the bogeyman or imaginary monsters lurking in her closet. Paige McCullers was fearless; or _almost _fearless. The beautiful creature lying beside her could be pretty terrifying sometimes. "It's not funny!" Emily pouted, her full lips looking so damn kissable that Paige had to grip the bed covers to stop herself from sitting up and kissing them. "How do you _not _jump?"  
"Because I'm not a baby?" She teased, her usual venom missing from her voice as she stuck her tongue out at the other girl. Emily retaliated by throwing the cushion she'd been hiding behind; though her aim was a little off and the cushion went sailing off the bed and landed harmlessly on the floor.  
"That the way you want to play, Fields?" Paige smirked, her competitive streak waking with a vengeance as she picked up one of the other cushions and aimed it at Emily. The dark haired girl giggled as she grabbed at a pillow to defend herself and they ended up in an impromptu pillow fight. Paige had the advantage of being on her knees while Emily was defending herself on her back and had to stretch up to try and reach the other girl.

Her laughter abruptly stopped as pain shot through her side and she dropped the pillow in favour of clutching her side again. She panted for breath as she tried to compose herself, but the pulled muscle refused to relent. Paige dropped her own cushion and moved to Emily's side. "Lie down on your stomach." She commanded, her voice taking on an assertive tone that Emily couldn't deny sent shivers racing up and down her spine.  
"W-why?"  
"Just do it, Fields."

Despite her better judgement Emily did as she was told and lay down on her front with her head to the side. She went to take hold of her side again, but Paige's hands beat her there and she let out a little gasp as the other girl's warm hands pressed firmly against her skin. "Relax." Paige tried to sound casual herself, but her voice came out as a deep husk. She moved so that she was straddling the dark haired beauty's long legs and Emily's whole body tensed beneath her. Paige got to work in silence, her fingers needing in to the soft sensitive flesh of Emily's injured side.

"Better?" She asked after a few minutes and was met with frosty silence. "Emily?" She tried again, hoping she hadn't upset the other girl, but the best way to get rid of a pulled muscle was a good deep massage. She looked up and found Emily's eyes closed over, her lips parted just slightly. Smirking to herself she increased the pressure just a little and was rewarded with a low satisfied moan.  
"Wow." Emily breathed out, her eyes still half closed as Paige began focusing on the rest of her back and shoulders. "You're…you're good at this."

"I'm good at a lot of things." Paige teased. She wasn't really known for her modesty. Emily's cheeks coloured as her mind obviously went somewhere dirty and the redhead's grin widened. Her nimble hand moved to Emily's ribs, pushing her t-shirt further up and brushing her fingertips against the underside of the other girl's breasts. Emily wasn't wearing a bra. Paige bit back a moan of her own as Emily tensed, her hips pressing up against the smaller girl's thighs and almost driving her crazy.

She stared down at the expanse of tanned flesh that made up Emily's back and had to fight the urge to press her lips against the soft blemish free skin. She wanted Emily; wanted her more than she wanted to make anchor or captain, more than she wanted to be made valedictorian or to be accepted in to an Ivy League school. Emily made her forget about wanting all the things she had worked so hard get over the years, and that _terrified _her. It would be so easy to lose her mind over the girl lying beneath her; to just throw everything away and tell the world that she was in love with a girl; with Emily Fields. Except she couldn't, because the fearless Paige McCullers was a coward. She couldn't be the person Emily needed her to be. She couldn't tell her dad that she was in love with a girl. She couldn't admit to anyone else that she was…that she was gay.

"Paige?" Emily pulled her out of her thoughts and it sounded like it wasn't the first time she'd said her name. Paige's fingertips were still lingering by Emily's breasts and she moved them to a safer place atop her shoulders.  
"Uh, yeah?" She kicked herself at how husky and shaken her voice came out, but there was nothing she could do to stop it.  
"This is why you've been avoiding me isn't it?" Emily sighed, her own voice tinged with sadness. For a moment the redhead was confused, but then she understood what Emily was talking about. "We can't just be friends."  
"No… We can't." She admitted as the other girl voiced what they'd both known all along. Emily's plan to 'just be friends' had been doomed from the start. There was simply too much between the two of them to pretend otherwise. It had to be all or nothing. Either Paige had_ all_of Emily, or she couldn't have her in her life at all.

"I'll put the next movie on." Paige climbed off the other girl and busied herself swapping the DVDs over. Emily sat up and pulled her t-shirt back down. Without Paige lying over her she was starting to feel cold again. She slipped under the covers just as Mr McCullers knocked on the door. He walked in carrying a sleeping bag and a folding camp bed.  
"Hey, Emily. Feeling better?"  
"Much, thank you."

"Great. I called Ashley and told her you were staying over. She's arranged to have your car recovered so you don't need to worry about that. I'm going to call it a night, don't you girls be staying up too late…goodnight Princess."  
"'Night Dad." Paige's cheeks were burning as her dad used his pet name for her in front of Emily.  
"Princess Paige?" Emily smirked, earning a scowl from the smaller girl.  
"Shut it Fields."

Some of the tension from earlier seemed to have disappeared and Paige climbed under the covers beside her. "I'll sleep on the camp bed... After the movie."  
"No, I'll sleep on it. It's your room-"  
"Exactly, you're the guest. You get the bed."  
"I'm not kicking you out of your bed-"  
"Emily, it's fine-"  
"We can share." Emily suggested, cutting the other girl off. "I mean…it is a double and it's freezing outside..." She rolled on to her side to carry on watching the film. Paige didn't argue with her logic. She lay on her side, her eyes glued to Emily's back.  
"It is pretty cold outside. Maybe we should…you know…huddle?" She inched forward and cautiously put an arm around her waist. Emily shuffled back so so she was lying flush against her.

"Like penguins." Emily smiled absently, content with having the little redhead wrapped around her. She knew they were playing a dangerous game. Nothing had changed. Paige wasn't ready to come out and Emily wasn't willing to hide who she was; but lying cuddled up in the dark, Emily couldn't stop herself from wishing that something could just give between them.  
"Thought I was a princess?" Paige chuckled, her lips so close that they tickled Emily's ear.  
"You are." The dark haired beauty let out a husky sigh as she turned over, her lips catching the other girl's; and for a second Paige forgot how to breathe.

Just as her own lips started to respond, Emily pulled away. She bit at her lip as she dropped her gaze and rolled back over to face the window instead of the redhead staring incredulously at her. "I'm pretty tired." She mumbled, fighting back tears as she felt Paige pull her arm away and roll on to her back with a heavy sigh.  
"Yeah. Me too."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So a big thank you to everyone who read the first chapter and for all the awesome feedback. I'm not sure how long this is going to be and I have a ton of fics I should be working on, but I definitely had to carry on after watching the first half of season 3 and learning so much more about Paige's history. **

Emily was pretty sure she had screwed up by kissing Paige. She'd just been kind of caught in the moment, with the other girl's husky voice in her ear and her arm wrapped protectively around Emily's waist, she'd just rolled over and kissed her; but then Paige had started kissing her back and the teenager had panicked. Nothing had changed between them. She couldn't start something knowing it would end badly again. She'd cut Paige out of her life in order to give them both a chance. The other girl needed to work out for herself what she wanted and Emily needed to be able to live her life. She couldn't be a dirty little secret. She wouldn't.

They'd ended up lying in silence in the dark after the kiss, both practically hanging over the edge of their side of the bed as they tried not to touch. The tension between them seemed almost explosive; one spark could set them off. Though Emily wasn't entirely sure whether it would be an explosion of lust or anger. It was hard to tell with the other girl.

Emily was half asleep by the time the second horror movie finished and Paige shifted beside her, getting up to change the DVD. "Want to watch another?" She asked, her voice coming out a little strained as she did her best not to turn and look at the long legged goddess lying in her bed. She was still kicking herself for letting Emily kiss her and then back off so easily. She should have stood her ground, dug her heels in and demanded they work something out; but her pig-headed stubbornness seemed to fail her when it came to Emily Fields.

"Cartoons." Emily mumbled as she buried her head further in to her pillow and the redhead frowned at her.  
"Cartoons?"  
"I always watch cartoons after scary movies, or I can't sleep." The other girl wasn't watching much of anything with her eyes closed.  
"You were practically asleep for the last movie. I'll just turn the TV off-"  
"No! Please?" Emily made a show of sitting up and brushing her hair back from her face to prove she was awake. "I wasn't asleep." The smaller girl rolled her eyes at the sight of Emily shooting her a pleading puppy dog look to get her own way. It worked a treat, no doubt about it, but Paige wasn't about to roll over so easily.  
"You were so asleep. You were snoring!"  
"I don't snore!" Emily objected; outraged by the accusation that she did. "And I can tell you _everything _that happened in the last movie!"

"Only because you've _seen it_ _like a thousand times_." She did a good impression of the other girl's voice and Emily's pout deepened, though Paige could see a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Fine, fine! I don't have cartoons though. How about a comedy?" She picked up one of her favourite movies and handed it to her for inspection.  
"Sean of the Dead…This has zombies in it!"  
"It's a comedy!" Paige objected as she took the DVD back and put in to the player. "Trust me, you'll love it!" She climbed back in to bed beside the other girl, though kept a respectable distance. At least they were talking again. That was a start. It seemed like they were on a merry-go-round, constantly going in circles and never really getting anywhere.

Emily made it halfway through the movie before her eyes closed again and within a few minutes she was fast asleep, snoring softly in to her pillow. Paige carried on watching the rest of the movie, lying in her bed long after the closing credits had rolled on screen. She was torn between sleeping on the camp bed (and avoiding any sort of weirdness from Emily in the morning) and spending the night in her own bed. Making her decision she pulled the blankets up to her chin and settled down, scooting a little closer to the other girl. She left her TV on, hoping to be able to claim she'd fallen asleep during the movie too.

She thought it was a bit pathetic, the lengths she was going to just to be beside the girl, but she had thought about Emily in her bed so many times that it seemed idiotic to pass up the opportunity to sleep beside her; even if the other girl was flat out and had no idea she was sharing the bed. Eventually her mind shut off long enough for her to slip in to oblivion, content in the knowledge that if she rolled over her in her sleep she could wake up with Emily in her arms.

She didn't quite get the wakeup she was expecting as she was abruptly awoken by the sound of the other girl screaming. She shot up in bed, her body tense and her mind racing as she tried to figure out why Emily was screaming. "What's going on?" Her voice came out a little harsh and she instantly softened it as she found Emily sitting beside her, clutching her knees and panting for breath. She had a serious case of bed hair and was possibly the only girl that Paige knew that could look so adorable at three am. "Hey? Emily, what's wrong?"  
"N-nightmare." Emily gasped, trying to erase the mental image of Alison DiLaurentis rising from her grave and chasing her through the cemetery. Paige's hand had once again found the small of her back and was proving a pretty good distraction to take her mind off dead best friends and zombies.

"Here." She pulled her hand away as she leant over the side of the bed and came back with her laptop. She booted it up while Emily watched with silent curiosity and after a couple of minutes she'd brought up some old Looney Tunes cartoons online.  
"Cartoons." Emily gave her a sleepy smile as she lay back down on her side to watch the laptop that was sitting on Paige's knee. The other girl decided there and then that she could not live her life without once again seeing Emily smile at her like that. "Told you I'd get nightmares." She mumbled at her through a yawn.

"Yes you did." Paige rolled her eyes with a small smile. Emily was lying flush beside her, already half asleep as her tired eyes stared at the laptop. With a subtle shift of her arm Paige ended up holding her; sort of. Her hand found the small of Emily's back and then stilled, waiting for a reaction from her. Emily didn't move or try to pull away, so Paige started slowly rubbing her back, moving her hand in small soothing circles against her skin. A soft sigh escaped from Emily's lips as she shifted forward, resting her head on Paige's thigh and letting her eyes close over again. They lay like that for a while, until the crick in Paige's neck got too much. She carefully slipped out from under Emily, resting the other girl's head on one of the pillows instead, before shutting down her laptop and putting it back on the floor beside her bed. She stretched out, trying to get rid of the ache in her neck that had come from leaning against the headboard for so long.

Beside her, Emily mumbled something before rolling over to sleep on her side. Paige lay beside her, silently taking in the gorgeous sight before her. She couldn't put a number on how many times she had thought about having Emily in her bed. The way things had been going she was lucky to have Emily back in her life at all, never mind in her room. If it hadn't been for the snow storm then Emily would still be giving her the cold shoulder and ignoring her in the halls at school. There was a chance she still would could Monday morning. As Paige pulled the covers up over both of them she let out a silent prayer for a ton of snow to keep them stuck in the house. She just needed some time with Emily. Even if it was just a weekend, she'd take it.

* * *

When Emily woke up she found herself staring at a room that wasn't hers. It was a familiar occurrence, but she panicked as she realised it wasn't Hannah's room either. It took a moment for the fog in her brain to clear and she remembered where she was. She sunk back down on to the bed as she scanned Paige's room in the early morning light. The walls were a plain magnolia, but posters for bands and movies covered most of them. There were swimming trophies and ribbons on the shelves and the bookcases were overfilled with DVDs and battered well-read books. Paige herself was nowhere in sight. Emily fumbled through her bag; Paige had brought it in from the car for her the previous night.

She grabbed her cell phone and tried calling Paige but her phone was sitting on her desk. Hanging up she checked through her phone and found a missed text from Hannah and a few missed calls from Spencer. She sent Hannah a text to tell her she was ok and would be home soon then sent one to Spencer apologising for not answering her. She'd barely hit send when her phone started ringing and Spencer's name flashed up on the screen. "Where are you?"  
"Hey to you too Spence."  
"Where are you, Emily? I passed your car driving home last night and it was just abandoned by the side of the road! Hannah said Nick McCullers phoned her mom-"  
"Yeah, my car broke down in the snow and I ended up staying over at Paige's last night." Emily interrupted the other girl's rant, knowing how easily Spencer could get locked in if left to rant.

"Wait! You stayed over at Paige McCullers' house? The girl tried to drown you not so long ago! What if she'd tried to smother you in your sleep?"  
"Spencer." Emily sighed, feeling the start of a migraine coming on. "She's not like that. She had a lot going on back then-"  
"What, like another personality? Em, people don't change that much in a couple of months!"  
"Spencer, can we just not do this?" Emily pleaded, cautiously glancing over at the door in case Paige walked back in. "I'll call you when I get back to Hannah's-"  
"You're still there? Get out!"  
"Bye Spencer." She hung up while Spencer was still shrieking down the phone. She understood why her friend was worried about her. Paige had acted pretty crazy the day she had pushed Emily's head under the water, but she hadn't been trying to drown her. She'd just been in a really bad place.

Leaving her phone on Paige's bed she set off to go and find her. The second she reached the stairs she caught the aroma of eggs and bacon and her growling stomach led her to the kitchen. A woman with long auburn hair stood by the hob, frying the delicious smelling bacon. She looked up as she spotted Emily by the door. "Hi, you must be Emily." She offered her a cautious smile. "I'm Lauren, Paige's mother. Would you like some breakfast?"  
"Yes. Thank you." Emily took a seat at the breakfast bar in the open plan kitchen, nervously glancing around for any sign of Paige. Mrs McCullers seemed to pick up on her unease.  
"Paige went out for a run; I passed her as I was coming in this morning. I work at the hospital and I got stuck there last night with the snow." The older woman explained as she plated up the eggs and bacon, leaving a plate on the bench for her elusive daughter. She put a plate down in front of Emily and then went over to the fridge to get her some orange juice.

"You're a doctor?" Emily quizzed, trying to make polite conversation with the woman she'd never met before.  
"Yes. Paige never mentioned that?"  
"Uh…no. We're not really that close. We swim on the same team but-" She was interrupted as the backdoor opened and Paige finally made an appearance. Her nose and cheeks were red from running in the snow and her auburn hair was half hidden under a baggy wool knit hat. She'd woken up early, with one of Emily's legs tangled with hers and an arm across her chest. She'd panicked a little and had decided to go out jogging to clear her head.  
"Hey." She smiled at the sight of Emily sitting in her kitchen and was rewarded with a smile back.

"Hi. I can't believe you went running in this, you must be freezing." Emily decided to keep the conversation light, seeing as Paige's mother was standing less than a foot away from them; but she clearly remembered falling asleep cuddled in to the other girl with Paige stroking her back, and that was probably something they would have to talk about; not to mention the kiss they'd shared.  
"I've got to keep in shape if I want to steal anchor from you." Paige shot back with a smirk as she took a seat beside her and was glad that Emily laughed.  
"It might not take much." She admitted as she shifted uncomfortably, the pain in her side flaring up again.  
"Are you ok? Is it your side again?" Paige went to reach out for her, but then remembered her mother was there and kept her distance.  
"Everything ok Emily?"  
"I'm fine." Emily tried to reassure the doctor and her daughter. "It's just a pulled muscle."  
"Here, try this and go see your doctor if it stills hurts in a couple of days." Mrs McCullers pulled out a tube of muscle rub from one of the kitchen drawers. "Can you reach it ok. Do you want me or Paige to help?"

Emily swallowed hard as she was reminded of the other girl's hands on her skin the night before; massaging her side long after the pain had gone. "I..I can manage. Thanks." She squeezed some of the ointment on to her palm and slipped her hand under her borrowed t-shirt to rub it in to her skin where it hurt the most. It gave her a little relief, but it was nowhere near as effective as Paige's hands had been the night before. She caught the other girl glancing at her from the corner of her eye and blushed, as though Paige could tell what she had been thinking.

"Paige, I'm taking your grandma in to the city and your dad's working today, so you girls have the house…try not to wreck it." Mr McCullers planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead before turning to Emily with a bright smile. It was the kind of smile a doctor was used to giving to strangers on a daily basis. "Emily, it was lovely to finally meet you. You should join us for dinner sometime."  
"I will. Thank you." Emily replied politely, though in all honesty she was beginning to think avoiding Paige had been a good plan to stick to. They'd spent one night together and things had already grown ten times more complicated. "Your mom's nice."  
"Yeah, I got the crazy from my dad's side…I'm sorry, about all that stuff that went on…with us."  
"You don't have to apologise. You were sacred. I understand, I do." Emily felt like she had spent her morning defending the other girl. "I should have made more of an effort to help you. I hate that we've been ignoring each other."

"Stay." Paige almost kicked herself for her outburst, but she quickly recovered. "I mean, if you don't have plans today…you could stay here? If you wanted to?"  
"I'd like that." Emily nodded with a small smile. "Is it my turn to pick a movie?"  
"No way, you chose _cartoons_, remember?"  
"That doesn't count!" Emily pouted and Paige felt her resolve breaking as the other girl's big brown eyes bore in to her, but she stood her ground and after another ten minutes of bickering she finally got her way and got to pick the film. After a quick shower she changed in to some warm clothes and chose another zombie movie. She put the DVD in the player in the living room. While Emily made herself comfortable on the couch, Paige disappeared in to the kitchen and came back with a big bowl full of warm popcorn and a couple of soda cans. She pulled the curtains over, casting the room in to darkness, before taking a seat beside the other girl on the couch.

Paige's gaze kept wandering from the television set to her side, watching Emily out of the corner of her eye. "Are you cold?" She quizzed as she caught her shivering.  
"A little." The dark haired girl admitted as she rubbed at her bare arms. She was still wearing the sweats and t-shirt she had borrowed the night before and with the snow lurking outside there was a cold chill in the air.

Paige disappeared up the stairs and came back down with the cover from her bed. She draped it over Emily with a warm smile before curling back up on the couch herself. "Better?"

Emily bit her lip as she shuffled closer to her. Tentatively resting her head on Paige's shoulder she pulled the blanket up to her chin, her attention quickly going back to the TV screen as she mumbled back, "Much."


	3. Chapter 3

At some point during the morning Emily's head had migrated to Paige's lap, along with a thick furry cushion. By the early afternoon they were still curled up under the blanket watching movies; neither of them willing to comment on the fact that Emily was lying between Paige's legs while the other girl's fingers gently ran through her hair. Emily had almost fallen asleep again when there was a sharp knock on the front door. It was quickly followed by another one. Emily reluctantly sat up to let Paige answer the door, already missing the warmth of her body pressed against her.

Paige was less than happy at having to get up for the door and her mood took a turn for the worst as she opened the front door to find Spencer Hastings standing on her porch. She'd known Spencer from playing Field Hockey and there was no love lost between them. Spencer stared her down like a lioness waiting to pounce, though Paige wouldn't give her the satisfaction of showing fear. "Hastings? What do you want?"  
"Emily." Spencer replied, cutting out any pretence of pleasantries. "She's not at Hanna's and she's not answering her phone, so I presume she's still here; or have you smothered her and buried her in the backyard?"

Paige felt a flash of red hot anger as she realised Emily must have told her friends what had gone on between them in the pool. Did that mean they knew everything that had gone on? Had Emily told them that she was…that she liked Emily? She kept her temper in check and her face neutral as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared right back at the taller girl. "Don't you think that's in poor taste? Given what happened to your last BFF?" The cheap shot hit the right spot and Spencer's jaw tightened.  
"Can I speak to Emily, _please_?" She ground the last the word out as though she'd had to force it through clenched teeth and Paige took it as a win as she stepped aside to let the other girl in.  
"She's in the lounge."

"Who was at the door?" Emily called over her shoulder as she heard the front door close and footsteps approaching her.  
"Me." Spencer snapped and the other girl sat bolt upright on the couch, as though her friend had caught her in some sort of compromising position. "You weren't answering your phone, so I had no choice but to come over. We've had an interesting text from-" She stopped as Paige followed her in to the room, her hands shoved in to the pockets of her sweats as she leant casually against the doorframe. "Could we have a minute, please?"  
"Sure, I'll just leave my own living room." Paige's tone was as dry as firewood as she looked between the other two girls. She liked Emily, but she wasn't her girlfriend; she wasn't sure what she was to the other girl, but she sure as hell wasn't under any obligation to put up with her friends.

"No, Paige. We'll go." Emily shot Spencer a sour look as she pushed the blanket away and got to her feet. "I'll just get my stuff." She trudged up the stairs, praying that her friend could behave for the few minutes she would be alone with Paige. Luckily Spencer decided to take the best course of action and remove herself from the situation.  
"Tell Emily I'll be in the car."

Paige sneered at her turned back as she went to fetch Emily's clothes out of the laundry room. She found Emily upstairs in her room, on her hands and knees looking under her bed. She sat up triumphantly with her phone in her hand and then blushed as she realised the other girl had been watching her. She brushed her hair behind her ear as she pocketed the phone. "It must have dropped on the floor when you got the blanket…" An awkward silence fell over them as Emily got to her feet and picked up her backpack. Neither girl was sure what to say to the other. They were once again in unchartered waters; unsure of exactly what was going on between them.

"Do your friends know about me? About us?" She asked, easily reading the guilt on Emily's face. She felt an overwhelming unease growing in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't even admit out loud to herself that she was gay; she couldn't have Emily's friends laughing at her over her confusion and her crush on the dark haired beauty.  
"They knew you were giving me a hard time when I went back to swimming. That's it." Emily shrugged, unable to meet the other girl's scrutinizing gaze. "I didn't tell them about the other stuff." Paige was pretty sure she was being honest with her. Emily wasn't all that good of a liar. Her emotions played out all too clearly across her face; unlike Paige who had an almost impassive poker face, which came in quite useful considering the lie she was living every day.

"I got your clothes out of the driver." Paige held up the pile of clothes as though just remembering she had them, finding a good excuse to change the conversation and avoid any more awkward questions.  
"Thanks." Emily reached for the pile and their hands grazed. Their eyes locked and Emily felt herself leaning in at the same time as Paige-

Honk! Honk!

They jumped a foot apart as Spencer slammed her hand down on the horn. Emily rolled her eyes, almost letting out a groan of frustration as she took her clothes from the other girl. She was about to go change in the bathroom when Spencer started with the horn again. "Go. I'll get the sweats back off you at Monday's practise." Paige sighed as she stepped aside to let her go. Emily walked up to her and pressed her lips to her cheek before pulling away and biting her lip.  
"I'll text you later or something."

Paige nodded, not trusting her own voice as Emily stuffed her clothes in to her backpack. They were both silent as they made their way down the stairs and it was only as Emily reached for the door that Paige spoke up. "Wait-" She caught hold of the other girl's wrist just as Emily turned around to face her. Their lips ended up crushed together as Paige pushed her back against the closed door. Outside, Spencer's car horn was blaring again, but neither girl noticed as their lips carried on moving and Paige's hands found Emily's hair, becoming tangled in the thick locks. When they finally pulled apart they were both breathless and Emily's chest was heaving.  
"I…I have to go. I think Spencer's about to blow a fuse… I'll call you."

Emily fumbled with the door handle and made it out on to the porch before anything else could happen between them. Paige stood by the door and gave a half-hearted wave as Emily climbed in to the car. By the time she had her seatbelt on Paige's door was shut. She glared at Spencer as she opened her mouth to say something. "Don't, Spence! Just…don't." She slumped down in her seat and stared out the window, needing just a few more minutes before being thrown back in to reality.

Her best friend made it a whole five minutes before speaking, but eventually the silence grew too much and Spencer had to break it. "Did you read the text from A?" Emily pulled out her phone and read the message that had been sent an hour earlier. She had to scroll down the dozen others sent from Spencer and the girls before she found it.

'_Seems like Emily's battery is running a little flat. She might want to try the brakes. –A."_

"So A's threatening me again. What's new?" Emily huffed. She was getting pretty sick of A targeting her.  
"A messed with your car Emily! You could have been killed! We need to meet with Hanna and Aria and check all of our cars-"  
"And?" The other girl snapped, losing her temper and taking it out on her friend. "And what Spence? We play A's little games and we try and figure out who it is who's plaguing our lives and we don't get anywhere! I'm sick of it! I'm sick of putting my life on hold because of A!" She was aware Spencer was staring at her in shock. Emily was usually the quiet one; the people pleaser who went along with what the other girls said. She sat with her arms on the steering wheel and squinted back up at Paige's house.

"You're right. We've all been putting our lives on hold and recently A has been targeting you the most… I'll go meet up with Aria and Hanna, you go enjoy your weekend. You deserve it."  
"No. Spence I-"  
"I mean it Emily. When I walked in on you before, you had the biggest smile on your face. I feel like I haven't seen you smile since Maya left. I don't like McCullers, but if she makes you happy and you want to date her-"  
"I don't know if I do." Emily admitted with a sigh as she ran her hands through her hair, brushing it away from her face. "We click and we have loads of stuff in common, but she isn't ready to come out and I can't live like that…"  
"Jesus Emily! It's not like you've got to marry her! Just go with the flow!"

The dark haired girl managed a lopsided smile at her childhood friend. "Since when have you ever gone with the flow?"  
"How about when I kissed my sister's boyfriend? Twice." Spencer shot back with a grin of her own. "Take a chance Em…or at the very least take the weekend."  
"Thanks." Emily scooted over in her seat and hugged her friend before climbing back out of the car. She waited for Spencer to drive off before she trudged through the snow and climbed the steps to Paige's porch. She hesitated before knocking, considering just turning around and walking away; but Spencer was right. Paige made her happy. She couldn't explain it, the other girl was something of a firework and sometimes she could go off without warning, but somehow she made Emily smile without really trying. She wrapped on the door without any more hesitation.

Paige appeared after a few moments, looking grumpy as she opened the door. She lost her frown as she spotted Emily, but she still didn't look happy. She looked around the empty street for Spencer's car. "Did you forget something?"  
"Yeah, I did." Emily stepped in close and captured her lips. The other girl was still for a second and Emily feared she'd made a mistake in coming back, but then Paige's lips started eagerly moving and she pulled her inside, slamming the door shut behind them. Emily let out a giggle as Paige started walking backwards, leading them back towards the lounge and almost walking in to a table with a vase of flowers sitting on top of it. She got her bearings back and managed to guide them over to the couch without their lips breaking apart. The back of her legs hit the couch and she dropped down, pulling Emily with her so that she had to climb on to her lap to keep kissing her.

"So, did Spencer let you go, or did you jump out the car at a stop sign?" Paige teased with a playful smirk as their lips finally managed to part for five seconds.  
"I know you and Spence don't get along, but she's one of my best friends and she worries about me." Emily sighed as she shifted so that she was sitting beside the other girl on the couch. "Besides, it was Spencer's idea for me to come back here."  
"Really? Remind me to send her a fruit basket." Paige grinned as she leant in for another kiss and Emily happily complied. They picked up where they had left off as Paige pulled the blanket back over them and they went back to shutting out the rest of the world. It was easy for them to be together when they were alone, but Emily knew they would need to talk about thing at some point.

Surprisingly, it was Paige who brought it up first. With Emily lying in front of her on the couch and her arms wrapped around her waist, Paige pressed a soft kiss to her neck before mumbling, "What do we do now?" She didn't have to elaborate for Emily to know what she was talking about. Sighing she turned over to face her and buried her face against her chest. Paige stroked her hair back away from her face, patiently waiting for an answer. She wasn't ready to announce her sexuality to the world; but she wasn't ready to lose Emily again. She'd been weak the first time she'd given up on them. And then again the second time when she'd walked away and let that perky blonde Samara take Emily from her; she wouldn't make that mistake again. She'd fight for her. Fight for them.

"The whole world doesn't need to know we're together." Emily started slowly, as though carefully thinking over her words. "But you can't just ignore me at school and worry what people are going to think if we're out in public together. We're on the same swim team, people aren't going to think it's weird that we hang out- What?" She frowned as she realised Paige was biting back a grin.  
"So we're together?"

Emily's own lips curled in to a smile as she took in the delight on the other girl's face. She was looking at Emily like she had just given her the most precious gift in the world. "If you want to be?" Emily blushed.  
"Hmm, let me think about that…" Paige laughed before leaning in to kiss her. She turned serious as she pulled away, staring Emily in the eye. "I should have fought harder for you. I was just scared. I still am, but you're right. We can go out in public without people making assumptions. I'm still not ready to come out to my parents or the team or other people…but maybe your friends knowing wouldn't be so bad. I guess Spencer pretty much already figured it out…I know it's not much but-" She was willing to take the first step and meet Emily halfway. The other girl was willing to hide their relationship, so the least Paige could do was allow her to be honest with the people closest to her. Apparently she'd said the right thing because Emily's face lit up as she leant in for another kiss.  
"It's enough."

They spent the rest of the afternoon curled up on the couch, until Paige started glancing at the clock on the fireplace every five minutes. Emily figured her dad was due home, so she made an excuse to leave; avoiding any more awkwardness for one day. She sent Hanna a quick text asking if she could pick her up. She'd been over at Spencer's so it didn't take her long to turn up outside Paige's house. The other girl wasn't letting Emily go without a fight though; her arms were still wrapped around Emily's waist as she tried to pull on her jacket. "Do you really have to go?"  
"I really do. I need to sort my car and call my mom. We could hang out tomorrow?"  
"It's a date." Paige smiled as she leant in for a goodbye kiss. She was already planning their day as she opened the door to let Emily out. "I'll see you tomorrow." They shared another quick kiss behind the door before Emily left to climb in to Hanna's car. She was grinning from ear to ear as she pulled on her seatbelt.

Hanna scrutinised her with a barely concealed smirk as she slipped the car in to gear and pulled away from the curb. "Someone's happy."  
"Yeah…I am." Emily nodded, grinning at the blonde as she brushed her hair back from her face. Hanna's smile wavered for a second as she considered what she was about to say the other girl.  
"You know I love you Em, we all do; and we all want you to be happy-"  
"Good." Emily interrupted, her own smile disappearing completely as she realised one of her so-called friends was once again lecturing her over her love life. "Because Paige makes me happy. I know what Spencer thinks of her, but she's wrong, just like _I _was wrong about Caleb being Sketchy-"  
"Caleb is _totally _sketchy." Hanna retorted with a grin as they stopped for a red light. She reached over and placed her hand over Emily's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "But I get it…and in my opinion, if Paige McCullers can put a smile like that on your face, then she's pretty damn good for you."  
"Thanks Han." It was nice to have at least one of her friends on her side; although she guessed Spencer was slowly warming to Paige. She'd just have to try to get them all to spend some time together; though she was looking forward to spending her Sunday alone with Paige.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it's been ages since I've updated; I have a lot of fics on the go and needed to update some of my older ones before I got around to this. I'm also working on a couple of other Paily stories, the feedback you guys have left me has been awesome and I'm definitely planning on getting in to writing more PLL fics.  
**

"Emily! You look fine! That shirt is fine!" Hanna rolled her eyes as she lay on her bed, watching the other girl frowning at herself in the mirror and pulling off the shirt she'd just put on. There was a mounting pile of clothes on Emily's bed, all of which had been tried on and discarded in the hour she had been getting ready.  
"It makes me look…frumpy." Emily sighed as she pulled on another shirt over the white vest she was wearing. It was a sky blue colour and she seemed marginally happier with it on than the other one; if only for a few seconds.  
"Emily, you could wear a pillowcase and still not look frumpy!" Hanna shook her head and got up to stop Emily from removing the shirt. She started buttoning it up for her, swatting Emily's hands away when she tried to stop her. "What are you and Paige even doing today?"  
"I have no idea…just hanging out, I guess." Emily bit her lip nervously as she glanced at the clock. She was supposed to be meeting the other girl in twenty minutes.

"We're just taking things slow, you know? I mean we've tried this before and it didn't work-"  
"You just have to meet each other in the middle." Hanna insisted, stopping Emily from talking herself out of going. "You were scared to be out once too Em, you just need to be patient; and Paige needs to see that the whole world isn't going to end if people find out about her. Now, stop freaking out over what to wear and go see your girl." She gave her a playful yet firm shove towards the door.  
"Thanks Han." Emily smiled as she picked up her car keys from her bed and waved before disappearing out the door.

She made it to Paige's house on time and was glad to see she was waiting for her on the porch. The car had barely come to a stop when Paige hopped in. "Hey." She smiled bashfully up at the other girl. Her nose and cheeks were red from waiting out in the cold and her bangs were sticking out from under the black beanie she wore on her head. Emily felt butterflies wreaking havoc in her stomach as she greeted her back, resisting the overwhelming urge to lean in and kiss her; Given that both of her parents' cars were still in the drive, it probably wouldn't have gone down too well.

"So, where are we going?" Emily quizzed as she pulled away from the curb, trying to think about anything other than kissing Paige.  
"Could you just pull over here a second?" Paige dodged the question, directing Emily to stop at the side of the road, a few blocks over from her house. She stopped the car and turned to ask why Paige had asked her to pull over. She was cut off before she could get a word out as Paige's lips found hers. She was taken aback for a moment, but before long her lips started moving in response. "Good morning." Paige grinned goofily as she pulled back.  
"Morning." Emily breathed, her own grin matching the other girl's. "So…where are we going?"  
"Ah, ah. Patience Fields, it's a surprise."  
"That might be kind of hard seeing as I'm driving." Emily pointed out, starting the car with no idea where she was meant to be heading.  
"I could drive?"  
"Please, I've seen you on your bike McCullers. You're not driving my baby."  
"Have it your way, Fields." Paige shrugged with a smirk. "We're going in to the city…but that's all you're getting out of me for now."  
"Sounds like a challenge." Emily shot her a smirk of her own back.

The hour it took to drive in to the city passed quite quickly as they kept the radio on low and made small talk about school and swimming, purposely avoiding any serious conversations. Emily was quite happy to put _those_ kinds of talks off for a while. Spencer was right, as usual, Emily didn't need the whole world to know about her and Paige from day one; they could take a little time and figure things out for themselves before involving other people. "Just keep on the I-95, down towards the river front." Paige directed her as they hit the city, having still not told Emily where they were going she directed her from the directions she had on her phone.  
"Come on, where are we going? Tell me?" Emily pleaded, growing restless like an over excited toddler as she pulled in to a space in the parking lot Paige had led them to. She was practically bouncing in her seat as Paige shook her head and pocketed her phone.  
"You'll see soon enough." She leant in for another kiss, but stopped short, still not used to being able to just kiss the other girl when she wanted. Emily shifted forward, bringing their lips together for her.  
"Better be good McCullers."

"You'll love it…at least I think you will…oh god, what if you don't? I really should have checked to see if you even like-" Emily cut off Paige's ramblings with another kiss effectively silencing the other girl. Her cheeks were red and flustered from the minor freak out she'd just been in the middle of and Emily kept hold of her hand, stroking the back of it with her thumb to reassure her.  
"I'm sure I'll love whatever you've got planned. I'm just glad to be spending today with you, away from Rosewood and…well everyone. We can just be ourselves."  
"I like the sound of that. Come on, let's get going before it melts."  
"Before what melts?"

Emily didn't have long to wait to find out what Paige was talking about as they left the parking lot, hand in hand, and headed down Columbus Boulevard. She spotted a large white sign welcoming her to '_Blue Cross River Ice Rink'. _She squealed with excitement, her face lighting up as Paige confirmed that was where they were going. "I_ love _skating. My dad used to bring me here all the time! Paige this is…it's perfect. Thank you." She kissed her cheek and the other girl was practically glowing. She'd got something right for once. "Can you skate?"  
"Can I skate?" Paige scoffed as she paid the admission free for the two of them. "I'm a McCullers, I can do anything!"  
"Except modesty?" Emily teased as she followed her over to the skate hire.

True to her word, Paige was a natural on the ice. It took Emily a little longer to find her feet on the ice, though Paige began to suspect she was just looking for an excuse to keep holding her hand; not that she minded in the slightest. The rink was open-air and perched on the river bank, though the snow wasn't as bad in the city it was still pretty cold and after a couple of hours on the ice they were both eager for a hot cup of coffee. They swapped their ice-skates for their sneakers and headed down the block to a little coffee house. They took a booth at the back once they had their coffee.  
"You're pretty good on the ice McCullers; I'm surprised you don't play ice hockey." Emily teased, knowing the other girl played more sports than half the jocks in their school.  
"I did. I played in Junior High. Field hockey too, and lacrosse… and I did some track for a while-"  
"Do you ever sit still?" Emily laughed. She herself liked a lot of different sports, but she hadn't played on anywhere near as many teams as Paige had through school. Emily always felt the most comfortable in the water and was happy just to be on the swim team. "I'm playing tennis at the club with Spencer and Aria next Saturday, you should join us."  
"I would; but me, Hastings and sporting competitions tend to end badly." Paige tried to laugh off the animosity between her and Spencer, but Emily knew their dislike of each other ran deep and she wanted to try and mend some bridges. Spencer was one of her best friends after all and Paige was…well she wasn't sure what Paige was to her yet, but she wanted her to be able to spend time with her friends; preferably without her and Spencer trying to kill each other.

"Come on! It'll be fun!"  
"Of course, because you can't have manslaughter without laughter." Paige quipped, earning a playful scowl from the other girl. "Fine, if it will make you happy, I'll play nice with Hastings."  
"It will make me _very_ happy." Emily beamed, happy to be getting her own way. She leant over to kiss her, but noticed Paige had suddenly grown pale and she shot out of her seat so fast they almost butted heads.  
"I need another shot of espresso in this." She picked up her coffee and made a hasty retreat to the counter with it. Emily was left staring after her, wondering what had just happened.

She noticed a girl nod towards her from another table and vaguely recognised her as a swimmer from a rival school. So that was what had spooked Paige. When the other girl came back with her coffee she sat opposite Emily, tucked in the corner of the booth and glancing nervously at the girls at the other table. She almost jumped out of her skin as Emily's hand covered hers. "I think you've had enough caffeine. Let's go." As they stood up Paige shoved her hands in to the pockets of her jeans, stopping Emily from reaching for her hand.

"I'm sorry." Paige sighed as she climbed in to the car and slumped in her seat. "Today was supposed to be about us and I blew it-"  
"No, you didn't." Emily took her hand again and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know how scary it can be to think about people finding out. We can take baby steps, ok? Starting with you coming out with me and my friends on Saturday."  
"Thank you." Paige leant over and gave Emily the kiss she had been going for in the coffee shop. They were interrupted by Paige's phone and she mumbled another apology before answering it. "Hey mom, uh…I'm just in the city. I'm with Emily. Uh, no we haven't, but- Ok, ok mom. I'll be back soon."

"Everything ok?" Emily quizzed. Paige had turned a funny colour again as she pocketed her phone.  
"Uh, yeah…Mom just invited you over for dinner, at my house…with my parents."  
"Well I didn't think we'd be having it Aria's with Spencer's parents." Emily laughed. "Do you want me to come? I can make an excuse if you don't want me to?"  
"No, I want you there. I really do… Just not with my parents."  
"It's one dinner; I'm sure we'll survive."

Emily wasn't quite as sure as she pulled up outside Paige's house. Though Nick had been nice enough to her over the weekend, she was still a little intimidated by the older McCullers. She thought back to the first time she'd invited Maya over for a dinner and suddenly realised how terrified she must have been; though that had been a little different seeing as Emily had introduced Maya as her girlfriend. At least Emily would have the anonymity of being regarded as just another one of Paige's friends. Though how long they could keep that up for was anyone's guess. She was willing to try, there was too much between her and Paige to just let it slip away again, but she couldn't just be her 'friend' forever. Sooner or later Paige was going to have to step up.

"It's not too late to make a run for it; if you put your foot down we could be at the Mexican border before dawn." Paige teased, trying to hide her apprehension with humour.  
"Great, we could stop off in Texas and have dinner with my family instead." Emily laughed at the expression that crossed the other girl's face as she thought about dinner with the Fields'.  
"Wow…if we ever have dinner with _both_ of our families then my dad and your mom definitely need to be at separate ends of the table. Maybe evenseparate tables…what?" She frowned as Emily bit her lip, barely supressing a grin. The other girl shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of what Paige had just said.  
"It's just… you're talking about family dinners…and us. It kind of feels like a big step forward."  
"Come on Ems, I'm not suggesting we _actually_ have dinner with both of our parents any time soon." Paige shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn't want to pull Emily down, not when she looked so happy, but the reality was she was still far from ready to come out to her parents. Emily wasn't discouraged though, and her smile never wavered as she squeezed Paige's hand; mindful that if she did anything else they might be seen by her parents.  
"No, but you're thinking about it…about us and the future. That's enough." It was certainly a big change from how things had ended between them last time. "A few months ago you couldn't even meet a rep from the Pride group-"

"Hmm, how is Samara?" Paige regretted the question the second it left her lips. It was childish and petty and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin anything between her and Emily, but having the other girl choose Samara over her had hurt and in all honesty it still stung. "Fuck, Ems I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"  
"It's fine." The other girl cut her off, though her tone was a little sharp and she'd lost her smile. They hadn't really spoken about Samara. She was on their unspoken list of topics to avoid, along with a lot of other things. Eventually they would have to talk things through if they were going to stand any chance of having a real relationship, but they were still supposed to be taking baby steps so any serious discussions could wait a while. "I'm sorry…Samara was the easy option. I should have been more understanding with you. I mean, I've been where you are now and I should have been more patient with you; but I'm trying now, we both are." She managed a small smile and was glad to see Paige return it. The other girl even risked a quick kiss on the lips. After pulling away she let out a heavy sigh and looked Emily square in the eye as she pushed her door open.  
"Ready for this?"

* * *

"So, Emily, how are your times this season? You performance as anchor at that last meet was quite impressive." Nick McCullers sat at the head of the table, quizzing his daughter's team mate as she had a mouth full of pasta. She swallowed hastily. Paige was sitting opposite her and looked cautiously between Emily and her father. Nick McCullers was rarely known for making small talk with teenagers.  
"They're good thanks Mr McCullers. I've shaved a couple of seconds off my personal best this season."  
"That's great news Emily, keep up the good work. You should come over and train with Paige in our pool; in the summer months of course, we don't want you turning in to a popsicle again." He chuckled and Paige felt like she'd suddenly fallen in to the Twilight zone. Her dad never made any effort with her friends; not that she brought many of her friends home with her.

When her mother was clearing the table Paige gave her a hand with the dishes and followed her in to the kitchen. "So, what's up with Dad? He's being _really_ nice to Emily."  
"Your father likes Emily, dear. She's a sweet girl and a strong swimmer." Her mother insisted as she started plating up the cheesecake she'd made for dessert.  
"He made a scene over her in the middle of the school! Twice!" Paige wasn't buying her dad's nice guy act. She knew that him being nice to Emily had to be part of some endgame he was playing; it had to be beneficial to him in some way she couldn't quite figure out.  
"Your father is a little highly strung and he got upset when he thought Emily's sexuality was giving her some kind of unfair advantage over you. It wasn't anything personal with Emily though. We talked about it a little last night and he agrees Emily's a good influence on you. It's nice to see you spending time with friends… She's welcome here anytime."  
"Oh… thanks mom." Paige was a little taken aback, and she felt like there was something else that the older woman wasn't saying, but she let it go and helped carry the dessert in to the dining room. Emily shot her a grateful smile as she put a plate down in front of her dad, stopping his interrogation of Emily's training techniques.

Emily hadn't even picked up her dessert spoon when her phone started ringing. Apologising to the others she excused herself out in to the hall to answer it. When she returned to the dining room a few minutes later she looked less than happy. "I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to go. The tenants in our house set off the alarm _again._ Thank you for dinner Mrs McCullers, it was lovely."  
"Not a problem Emily, it was lovely having you over. I'll wrap this for you and you can have it later." Paige's mother picked up her plate and took it off in to the kitchen to wrap it up for her. She came back with the wrapped cheesecake and two extra blueberry muffins. "Take care on the road and let Paige know when you get home." Having someone else mothering her made Emily miss her own mother. She had called Pam the night before to reassure her she was fine and to take care of the bill for towing her car, but they hadn't had much time to talk.

After saying goodbye to the McCullers she made her way out to her car, followed by Paige. The other girl cast a wary glance over her shoulder, to check her parents weren't watching them out of the window. She still felt apprehensive about being around Emily in front of her parents; it felt like she was trying to be two different people at the same time. "Thank you for today. It was great." Emily beamed as she climbed in to her car and Paige leant through the open window with a lopsided smile.  
"Even dinner with my parents?"  
"Even dinner…so I'll see you at school tomorrow? Or I could pick you up, if you wanted?"  
"I've got an early practice with my trainer tomorrow, but I can grab us a coffee before school starts?"  
"Sounds great. I'll call you when I get home-" Paige looked over her shoulder again, only half listening to Emily, before turning back around and giving the other girl a quick kiss.  
"Goodnight Em."  
"A good morning kiss _and _a goodnight kiss? I could get used to that." Emily teased. She hadn't expected the other girl to kiss her right in front of her house. It seemed Hanna had been right; baby steps were definitely the way forward.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey there." Paige grinned as she handed over one of the coffee cups she was holding to Emily. The other girl was standing by her locker and it was still early so the hallway was empty. Paige surprised them both by leaning in for a quick kiss.  
"Morning." Emily beamed back at her as she took the coffee and tentatively sipped at the steaming hot liquid. It was sweet and milky, just how she liked it. "How was your training?"  
"Good. I shaved a bit of time off my butterfly …how are you feeling? Are you up for practise later?" She noticed Emily was carrying her book bag on the opposite shoulder to normal and she seemed to be walking a little stiffly as they headed towards her homeroom.  
"Oh, yeah. I'm ok, just a little sore." She rubbed at her side, trying to ease the stitch she'd woken up with. She'd been feeling sore and run down for weeks and being caught in the snow at the weekend had definitely made things worse.  
"I could give you another massage?" Paige suggested innocently, but Emily's mind was elsewhere as a blush spread over her cheeks.

"I'd like that." Emily bit her lip as she nodded at her. "Are you free to hang out later? We could study?"  
"Sure, my parents are working late if you want to come over?" Paige suggested, not really wanting to go over to Hanna Marin's. The blonde was nice enough, but she didn't really know her and she was already on edge around Emily to start with. She was still holding her breath, waiting for everything to blow up in her face; again. She'd take as much time alone with the other girl as she could get. She spotted her best friend Pru down the other end of the hall and didn't miss the curious look she sent her way. "So, I'll see you later then-" She went to walk away, but Emily caught her hand.

"Hey, why don't you sit with us at lunch? Spencer will be on her best behaviour, promise."  
"Uh, I usually sit with Pru." She nodded towards her friend as she pulled her hand away from Emily's grasp. She saw a look of hurt flash across the other girl's face and instantly felt like kicking herself. She didn't want to feel so scared of people finding out about her and Emily. She wanted to be proud to have Emily Fields holding her hand, but there was just something inside of her that seemed to choke every time she thought of telling her friends or her parents. "We're still on for tennis at the weekend though, yeah?" She was dreading going to the country club and playing nice with Spencer and the rest of Emily's friends, but she had to show her girlfriend she was willing to make the effort. Emily's smile returned as she nodded.  
"Yeah. I'll see you in English."

Paige walked off to join Pru by her locker and was greeted with a scowl. "What's with the coffee date with Fields?"  
"What are you talking about?" Paige scoffed, though her cheeks were burning and were practically the same colour as her hair. Pru's eyes widened as she looked from her best friend to Fields. She'd been joined by her friends, but she was ignoring whatever Hastings was saying to her and looking over at Paige and Pru instead. She caught Pru looking at her and gave her a hesitant smile.  
"Oh my god! There _is _something going on with you two, isn't there? Hey!" The other girl squealed as Paige pushed her towards the nearby bathroom. "What the hell?"

"There's nothing going on with me and Emily! We're just friends, ok?" Paige rounded on her closest friend, praying that the other girl wouldn't be able to tell she was lying. Her pulse was racing and she was certain that Pru could hear her heart pounding against her chest.  
"Ok, ok! Jeez, chill would you? It's not like you'd have anything to be ashamed of is something was going on. Emily is _stunning;_ I've kissed way worse girls playing spin the bottle." Pru pouted in the mirror as she touched up her lip gloss. Paige just stared at her, her mouth hanging open. She wasn't quite sure what to say in response. "Not that _you _play spin the bottle, you're so boring at parties-"  
"I've kissed Emily...a few times. We're kind of, sort of…together."

It was Pru's turn to stand there with her mouth open as Paige shared her biggest secret with her. Her shock quickly turned in to excitement as she let out a squeal and practically started jumping up and down on the spot. "Since when?"  
"The weekend I guess, but the first time we got together-"  
"First time?" Pru cut her off. "Oh my god, Paige! I'm your best friend; you're supposed to tell me about these things!" The other girl playfully punched her shoulder.  
"Sorry, I just…I wasn't ready for people to know about us…or about me. That's why it didn't work out the first time."  
"So, am I the only person you've told?"  
"Yeah, I mean some of Emily's friends know, but you're the first person _I've_ told."  
"Oh, McCullers." The other girl rolled her eyes as she pulled her friend in for a crushing hug. "You really don't have anything to be ashamed of. I mean _Emily Fields? _You're punching way above your weight!"  
"Hey!" Paige scowled, she knew Pru was only teasing, but she couldn't help feeling a little self-conscious. Emily was gorgeous and she was out to the whole world, Paige wasn't sure she was ready for the whole world to know about them, but confiding in her closest friend had to be a pretty good start.

"Oh." The door to the bathroom opened and Paige found Emily and Spencer walking in on her and her best friend in their suddenly awkward hug. Pru quickly pulled away with a grin. "Don't worry Fields, that was totally platonic! She's all yours." Paige stood their wishing the ground would open up and swallow her whole as Pru shot her girlfriend a wink and slipped out the door. Emily just laughed it off though, her expression curious as she turned to Paige with a smile.  
"You told her about us?"  
"Uh, yeah. It's only Pru but-" Emily cut her off with a kiss and the brush on Paige's cheeks deepened as Spencer cleared her throat and stood by the door like a spare part.  
"I'm so proud of you." Emily beamed. "So, does this mean you and Pru can sit with us at lunch?"  
"I'll see you then." Paige laughed before leaning in for another kiss. She passed Spencer on the way out and gave her a nod. "Hastings."  
"McCullers."

"So, you and Paige, that's happening then?" Spencer quizzed once she and Emily were alone. Her friend was practically glowing as she grinned back at her. Paige telling her best friend about them was definitely a step in the right direction. Emily felt like they were finally getting somewhere.  
"Yeah, it is. She's really trying this time Spence."  
"Yeah, well we'll see." Spencer crossed her arms over her chest. She was willing to give Paige a chance, but it was for Emily's sake. She had been through a lot, they all had, but Emily had faced most of A's wrath and she deserved a little bit of happiness.

Morning lessons passed slowly and English was the worst. Emily was sat in front of Paige and she couldn't help sneaking glances back at her. Every time Paige caught her looking she would grin at her. Halfway through the lesson Emily felt Paige pressing something in to her hand and found a folded up note. She rolled her eyes at the other girl with an amused smile; she hadn't passed notes in class in years.

_'Eyes front Fields ;)' _

Keeping a watchful eye on Mrs Montgomery at the front of the class, she scribbled down a quick reply and discreetly handed it back to the other girl. Her fingers brushed against Paige's and she felt a jolt of electricity pass between them. She had figured it would be easier to keep up the pretence that they were just friends at school, but it was hard to just nod at her as they passed in the halls when all she wanted to do was push her up against the nearest locker and kiss her senseless. She heard Paige laugh softly as she read her reply and she let her arm dangle at her side, waiting for her to pass the note back. When she did her hand lingered in Emily's for a moment. Emily looked back at her, biting back a grin. Just a few months ago Paige wouldn't have even spoken to her in the halls, and now she was holding her hand in class; albeit briefly.

"Emily, Paige, do you have anything to add?" Ella Montgomery had stopped talking and was staring at the two girls. Emily quickly turned back to face the front, her cheeks burning.  
"Sorry." She mumbled, clutching the note in her hand so that Mrs Montgomery couldn't see it. Aria's mother was no fool though and she had picked up on what the two girls were doing. She walked up to Emily's desk and held out her hand for the note.  
"Hand it over."

"Uh, Mrs Montgomery, it was my fault. Could I just have a detention or something?" Paige's eyes widened with fear at the thought of their teacher reading what she had written to Emily.  
"No Paige, what you can do it pay attention in my class. Now hand it over so I can get back to teaching the rest of the class." Knowing that everyone was already staring at them Emily reluctantly handed the note over, not wanting to draw any more attention to the pair of them. Beside her Aria mouthed 'sorry', but she quickly looked away as her mother's cast iron glare focused on her.

Ella unfolded the note and read it, which was exactly what Paige had feared she would do. Teachers had an annoying habit of thinking that when students were passing notes it was clearly about them.

'_Eyes front Fields ;)'_

'Sorry, somebody's distracting me :P'

'Hmm, I know the feeling. The view is pretty good ;) x'

She ripped the note up before walking back to her desk and dropping the pieces in the waste paper basket. She nodded curtly at Emily and the younger girl felt a flood of relief. Ella had known her since she was a kid, she wasn't likely to broadcast what she'd just read to the rest of the school. She'd just have to try and reassure Paige of that.

When the bell for lunch went Paige was packed up and out of her seat in a shot. She went to walk straight past Emily, but the other girl caught her hand. She pulled away from her like she had been burnt and Emily felt a pang of hurt. They had come so far over the weekend, yet Paige was already starting to drift away again. "Are you coming to lunch with us?" She knew Aria, Spence and Hanna were hovering behind her, waiting to see how things would play out and she hoped that Paige had just forgotten she'd said she would sit with them. She didn't want her friends to think Paige was flaking out on her again. _She _didn't want to think Paige was flaking out on her again.

She looked like a wounded animal caught in a trap. Her eyes were wild and unfocussed as she fidgeted with the strap on her bag. "Uh, actually I have some stuff to do, but I'll see you later, ok?"  
"Paige." Emily sighed as the other girl walked off. Ignoring her friends, she followed after her. "Paige, wait!" She caught up to her in the hall and pulled her in to the bathroom.  
"Emily, please just don't." Paige sighed. She didn't know what she had been thinking, taking such a risk in public. It was one thing Pru finding out, but what if her parents found out? What if Mrs Montgomery reported the note to someone and they called her parents in to talk about it? She was close to hyperventilating just thinking about it.  
"Ella- Mrs Montgomery isn't going to tell anyone. You don't have to worry-"  
"I do have to worry!" Paige objected, her voice rising by the second. "If my parents found out then I am _screwed! _My dad would literally ship me off to catholic school!"

"You'd look good in the uniform." Emily offered with a coy smile and her comment caught Paige completely off guard. She laughed, she just couldn't help it. All of the anger and tension disappeared the second Emily had smiled at her like that and she found herself leaning in to kiss the other girl. She relaxed in to Emily as the other girl's arms wrapped around her.  
"I'm sorry…I keep screwing this up."  
"You're not screwing anything up." Emily reassured her with a peck on the cheek. "I really am proud of you for telling Pru, and Aria's mom can keep a secret. Now are you coming to lunch or what?" She laced their fingers together as she tugged her towards the door.  
"I'll give lunch a miss today, but you're still coming over tonight aren't you?"  
"Of course. I'll meet you after school." Emily was a little disappointed, but she knew better than to try and push the other girl. She would make do with seeing her after school. She gave her another kiss before leaving to find her friends.

Paige sighed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her hands were still shaking and she had to splash some water on her face before following Emily out of the bathroom. She found Pru waiting for her with a sympathetic smile. "Want to go grab lunch at the Grille?"  
"No." Paige huffed as she fell in to step with her and followed her towards the front doors. "I want to go have lunch with Emily and her friends. I want to be able to hold her hand in public and…and to kiss her when I want."  
"The best I can offer is a grilled cheese sandwich and a coke?" Pru offered, knowing the swimmer was on a strict diet and was supposed to be avoiding carbs like the plague.  
"Fine."

Back in the cafeteria Emily was sitting with the others, toying with the food on her plate. "I'm sorry about my mom." Aria apologised, even though she didn't really have anything to apologise about. "Whatever you and Paige were writing she won't tell anyone."  
"Why were you passing notes in the first place? Haven't you ever heard of cell phones?" Hanna pointed out as she picked at her salad.  
"I think it's cute." Aria grinned.  
"You would." Spencer rolled her eyes at the other girl. "So is Paige freaking out?"  
"A little." Emily admitted. "But she really is doing better than last time. At least it's just the two of us hanging out tonight and she's not inviting Troy Sattler along…don't ask." She added as the others looked at her blankly.

* * *

"That's not right." Paige frowned as Emily pulled up outside her house and she found her mom's car in the drive. "She's supposed to be at work."  
"Want to take a rain check?" Emily offered, trying not to sound too disappointed.  
"No, we can just hang out in my room." Paige had already let the other girl down earlier in the day; she didn't want to do it again. "It'd be nice to spend some time together."  
"We spent practically the whole weekend together." Emily laughed; her smile lighting up her face as Paige leant in for a kiss.  
"I like spending time with you."

They made their way out of the car and in to Paige's house, finding her mother in the kitchen. "Hey Mom, Emily and I are going to study upstairs."  
"No problem dear. Your Dad got called away for a conference so I changed my shift at the hospital so I'd be home tonight. Is Emily staying for dinner? There's plenty to go around."  
"Only if isn't any trouble." Emily smiled. She liked Paige's mom; she was a hell of a lot friendlier than her father.  
"No trouble at all. I'll give you girls a shout in about an hour."

The two girls slipped out of the kitchen and upstairs to Paige's room. "Want to watch a movie?"  
"No." The door had barely closed when Emily's lips were on her, kissing her like they hadn't seen each other in weeks. Paige relaxed in to the kiss as she led Emily over to her bed. Things were so much easier when it was just the two of them. When they didn't have to worry about who was watching them. When they eventually pulled apart Paige put a move on anyway and turned the volume up a bit in case her mother decided to come upstairs. She and Emily pulled out their homework and Paige lay at the bottom of her bed while Emily sat with her back to the headboard. They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company until Mrs McCullers called them down for dinner.

The three of them sat at the dining room table and Mrs McCullers said a blessing before they dug in. "This is wonderful Mrs McCullers." Emily praised and she caught Paige rolling her eyes at her attempts to suck up to her mother.  
"Thank you, and please call me Lauren. _Mrs McCullers _makes me feel old." Lauren chuckled. She was an attractive woman and maybe a few years younger than Emily's own mother. "Are your parents still in Texas, Emily?"  
"Yes, Dad's still stationed at the base. They're coming up to visit soon, hopefully for the meet next month."  
"Oh, that'd be nice if they can make it. I should call your mother and arrange dinner for the six of us one night-"  
"Why?" Paige interrupted with her mouth full. Her mother frowned at her.  
"Paige, _manners; _and Pam and I are friends, when your father's not being an ass that is." Paige almost choked on her food as Emily stifled a laugh. Her parents usually always provided a united front and it was rare for her mother to criticise her father in front of her; but she seemed to like Emily and Nick _had _been in the wrong. "Nick's just a little…old fashioned, when it comes to that kind of thing."  
"It's fine." Emily reassured her, trying not to blush as she caught Paige's eye.  
"Well good." Lauren beamed. "Because I'd hate for you to feel unwelcome here. It's nice to see Paige bringing friends home."  
"I have Pru over all the time." Paige objected to her mother making out that she was some kind of social recluse.  
"That's different dear." Lauren replied and Emily thought she saw a knowing look on her face as she looked between her and her and Paige. "It's nice to see you with new friends."


	6. Chapter 6

"Is it too late to change my mind about doing this?" Paige eyed her girlfriend warily as they climbed out of Emily's car and the other girl playfully rolled her eyes at her.  
"Yes! We're already here, besides you promised." Emily pouted at her and Paige felt her resolve slowly dissolving. It disappeared altogether as Emily's hand found its way in to hers. "There's nothing to be scared about. We talked about this; it's going to be fine." Her lips pressed softly against Paige's cheek and she nodded slowly, still overcome by such simple interactions. To be able to hold Emily's hand, to kiss her and to see her pretty much when she wanted, it felt amazing to her. It felt like she'd won the lottery on Christmas morning; twice.

The other girl inspired a reckless kind of confidence in her, which is what had led them to their destination so early on a Saturday morning in the first place. Paige turned her head, catching Emily's lips before she could pull away. There weren't many people around due to the early hour and she'd become a lot more daring around her, even when out in public. Emily was still surprised by the kiss, though it was a pleasant kind of surprise and her lips eagerly responded. "Hey you two!" Aria Montgomery squealed at the sight of the two girls by Emily's car and Paige was forced to pull away and duck her head, a crimson blush spreading over her cheeks at having Aria and Spencer catching their little PDA. Emily seemed to be faring better, her lips curled up in to a confident smile as she hugged Spencer and Aria in turn. Aria moved in for a hug from Paige and her first instinct was to shove her hands in to the pockets of her sweats, but she knew she had to make the effort with Emily's friends so she awkwardly returned the embrace. Emily beaming at her was more than enough reward.

"We ready to do this thing ladies?" Spencer didn't waste time with pleasantries as she held up her tennis bat and nodded towards the club. The weekend had finally arrived and despite her best efforts Paige hadn't been able to get out of tennis at the country club with Emily's friends. She and Spencer had never really seen eye to eye and the two of them engaging in any kind of competitive sport didn't tend to end so well. She could already feel the aggression rolling off the other girls in waves.

"We sure are!" Emily replied enthusiastically, her thumb rubbing reassuringly across the back of Paige's hand. She obviously had an idea of how a game of doubles featuring Hastings vs. McCullers would turn out.  
"Great, so me and Aria take on you and McCullers-" Spencer started, but Emily cut her off.  
"Actually I was thinking Aria could be on my side?"

"Are you crazy?" The shorter teen shrieked. The idea of Spencer and Paige on the same side would have been daunting for anyone, but Emily knew what she was doing.  
"It'll be fun!" She insisted, shooting Aria a pleading look so she'd get that there was method in her madness. "Besides, I won't shout at you for missing a shot like Spencer does."  
"Hey!" Spencer objected, pulling a face at being called out on her competitive nature. "It's not shouting, it's…motivational advice!" Aria looked between her two friends, weighing up her options before finally shrugging and standing beside Emily.  
"Good luck, Paige."  
"Thanks." She laughed, not sure whether it would be worse to be with or against Spencer Hastings.

Once they were inside the club and set up on a court they paired off, with Aria and Emily standing opposite Paige and Spencer. Paige shot Emily a wink, basking in the girlish laugh it got from the other girl. She would never grow tired of seeing Emily smile like that; especially knowing she was responsible for it. "Head in the game, McCullers!" Spencer snapped at her as she bounced a couple of tennis balls off the ground, determining which was best to serve with. Paige rolled her eyes, but as she took her stance she could already feel her own competitive nature rearing its ugly head. She and Hastings were cut from the same cloth. They were both people who not only liked to win, but _hated _to lose.

"Oh sweet baby Jesus." Aria sighed as she stood opposite Spencer, her bright yellow leg warmers the same colour as the tennis ball and her pink T-shirt a far cry from Spencer's immaculate white polo shirt and matching tennis shorts. Spencer served first, she and Paige having won the toss up, and she sent the ball soaring over Aria's head before it bounced once inside the line and then rolled off towards the netting at the back of the court. "Sorry." Aria apologised sheepishly to Emily as Spencer picked up another ball, proudly declaring the score to be 15 - luv.  
"It's fine Aria. It's just a game." Emily laughed it off, her attitude the complete opposite of Spencer's. She enjoyed sports, but more for the taking part than the winning; that didn't mean she was going to roll over and just hand Spencer the win though.

The other girl served again and Emily darted forward to intercept the ball, sending it soaring towards Paige. She lobbed it back without having to put much effort in to it and despite her best efforts the ball slipped past her racket. Aria yelped as the ball headed towards her and ducked, letting it fly past to take the score to 30 - luv. "It's just a game, Em." Paige grinned; her eyes alight with mischief as Emily stuck her tongue out in response. After a couple more serves Aria seemed to find her feet and they managed to score a point or two of their own; of course against the powerhouse of McCullers and Hastings two points didn't amount to much.

"Advantage - 30!" Spencer announced after Paige landed a well-timed back hand shot. Spencer was in her element and she and Paige seemed to be working well as a team. Though that was mostly to do with the fact that they were winning, Emily felt rather proud of herself for her plan to team them up. Had they been on opposite teams there probably would have been bloodshed by the second serve. Emily tried her best to keep a rally going after the serve, knowing that one more point would cost them the game, but Aria got in her way more than she helped return the ball. Emily smashed the ball across the line, almost managing to win the point, but Spencer returned it with a volley that Aria missed completely. "Game!" She declared with a wide grin, turning to high five Paige. The two girls were in their element and Emily was glad to see them getting along, even if it meant suffering through another two sets.

"Match!" Spencer's smugness had reached new highs by the time they'd won three straight sets in a row. Paige looked just as please with herself, though Emily could forgive her given the healthy flush of her cheeks and the genuine smile that was splitting her face in two. She had been worried about Paige not enjoying herself and not liking her friends, though it seemed she had nothing to worry about as Spencer draped an arm over the slightly shorter girl's shoulders. "Team McHastings take the victory!"  
"Hey, what happened to team Sparia?" Aria sulked as she picked herself up from the ground. She had almost fell face first in to the net in a last ditch effort to stop Spencer's winning shot from landing.

"Sorry Montgomery, you've been replaced." Spencer teased, earning a playful shove from the shorter girl.  
"What about me? Have I been replaced?" Emily quizzed as she slipped up beside Paige, wrapping her arms around her neck before leaning in for a kiss.  
"Not a chance." Paige grinned at the quick peck on the lips. "How's the side?" She had noticed Emily starting to favour one side of her body in the last set and she was worried that the pulled muscle still hadn't righted itself.  
"Aww, they're so adorable!" Aria beamed, forgetting she was supposed to be sulking. "Now I just miss Ez-"  
"Who wants brunch?" Spencer shouted a little too loudly as she elbowed the smaller girl, warning her that she had just been about to let Ezra's name slip out. Paige might have been Emily's girlfriend, but they didn't really know her well enough for Aria to be revealing that particular secret to her. Paige didn't miss Spencer's less than subtle attempt to cover for Aria, but she didn't question it. She'd always known Emily's circle of friends were tight and she hadn't expected to be accepted in to it with opening arms; she would settle for just having Emily. Her friends were nice enough, even Spencer, but it wasn't Emily's friends that she was dating.

"Thank you." Emily smiled at her as they slipped back in to her car after a hearty brunch. "I really appreciate you making the effort with my friends. They mean a lot to me." She laced their fingers together as she tugged Paige in closer for a well-deserved kiss.  
"It was fun." Paige shrugged like it was no big deal. In truth she had actually enjoyed herself. She and Hastings had actually exchanged numbers, planning on meeting up one night through the week for some friendly field hockey practise. Paige would make sure to take Emily along as mediator, but she was still looking forward to it. "Do you have plans for the rest of the day? We could hit the public pool and get some practise in?"

Emily shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her side aching from exerting herself so much during their tennis game. Most of her muscles felt tight and sore and the cold water of the public pool didn't sound very appealing to her. "I've got a better idea. Hanna's mom is working and she's out with Caleb so we could go there? Put on a movie, curl up under a blanket?"  
"I like your thinking, Fields." Paige grinned. "I'd invite you over to mine, but my parents are home and well…" She faltered as a blush spread over her cheeks. She hated acting like Emily was some kind of dirty little secret, but she just wasn't ready for _that _particular conversation with her parents. Her mother had already been asking a lot of questions about Emily, given how much time they had been spending together.  
"It's ok." Emily reassured her with a gentle squeeze of her hand. Taking it slow was working just fine for both of them. She wasn't about to rush Paige to tell her parents about them. She hadn't even told her own parents that she was seeing someone, though her mother had been making more of an effort to ask about her daughter's love life.

"Crap." Paige frowned at her phone as the word 'Mom' flashed up on the caller ID. She had a feeling her plans for a lazy Saturday afternoon with Emily were about to go flying out of the window. "Hey Mom, what's up? Oh, uh, I actually had plans with….Yeah with Emily. Uh, no I don't…No! Mom, no…fine!" She huffed as she handed her phone over to Emily, who took it with an amused smile.  
"Hi Mrs- Lauren." Emily corrected herself before she could call her Mrs McCullers.  
"Emily, dear! I'm looking for some volunteers with the Church fundraiser this afternoon. Could you please inform my daughter that as the deacon's daughter she has a responsibility to support her father?" Lauren's tone was light and teasing as she chuckled down the phone. Paige pulled a face in the passenger seat, looking like a petulant pre-schooler at having their afternoon hijacked. "And it would be wonderful if you could help too. Are you Episcopalian?"

"Uh, Catholic." Emily answered honestly, wondering if she would still have an invite to help. Both of her parents were practising Catholics and Emily had been baptized in to the faith, though like most teenagers she only ever went to church when her parents made her.  
"That's fine dear, we just won't tell anyone." Lauren laughed. Emily really liked Paige's mother, she couldn't understand why the other girl was pulling such a strop about helping her out. "Why don't you girls head over to the house to help me pack these boxes and we'll drive over together to meet Nick?"  
"Ok, see you soon." Emily handed Paige's phone back to her, letting her say goodbye to her mother as she started the car, not quite sure how she had been roped in to helping without really agreeing to. There was definitely a bit of each of her parents in Paige. She had her father's temper but her mother's way with words.

"Great, now we get to spend our Saturday in some musty old church, selling second hand sweaters to old people." She pulled a face and Emily couldn't help but laugh at her as she shook her head.  
"Come on, it won't be that bad! And it will count towards our community service hours for graduating." Emily coaxed, though Paige didn't really have much of a choice anyway, she was already driving them towards her house.  
"I know." Paige huffed; aware she'd already lost the argument. "I'd just rather spend the afternoon with you on Hanna's couch, not in a church…where I'm pretty sure I'll probably spontaneously combust the _second _I have my first impure thought about you."  
"Paige McCullers, are you telling me you have impure thoughts about me?" Emily teased, her hand deliberately brushing against Paige's knee as she changed gears.  
"All of the time." Paige admitted with a sly grin, and it was no word of a lie. Getting through a day at school without touching the other girl had been hard enough over the couple of weeks they had been together; she was only half joking about her fear of being struck down in church. Her thoughts regarding Emily Fields definitely did notbelong in a house of God.

Emily blushed as she turned her attention back to driving. They hadn't really talked about taking things further, though their kissing and soft touches had been mounting over the weeks and she knew they would inevitably reach a point where they needed to talk about it. She had only ever been with Maya in that way before though and she wasn't sure she was ready to double the amount of girls she had slept with; even if Paige meant the world to her. Thankfully the other girl let it drop and the conversation turned to something safer as a song they both liked came on the radio.

When they pulled up outside of Paige's house they found her mom juggling two big cardboard boxes on top of each other as she headed towards her car. Paige jumped straight out and took one of the boxes for her. "Thank you, daughter. Hello Emily, nice to see you again."  
"You too." Emily returned her smile; the other woman's cheerful mood was infectious. She liked spending time with Paige's mom, especially with her own mother on the other side of the country.  
"Thanks for volunteering to help out today girls, we could really do with the extra hands!"  
"Yeah, we _volunteered._" Paige rolled her eyes as she loaded the boxes in to the car. "Are there anymore boxes to go in?"  
"Just two smaller ones on the stairs." Lauren answered, leaving her daughter to finish loading the car for her as she turned her attention to Emily. "How are you doing Emily? We haven't seen you much this week." They had been spending more time at Hanna's, only going over to Paige's house when her parents were out, though Emily wasn't sure whether that was a conscious decision on Paige's part or not. "Have you spoken to your parents about dinner yet?"

"Oh, no. Sorry." Emily apologised sheepishly. She hadn't spoken to them much and when she had she'd forgotten all about Lauren inviting them over for dinner. "My mom's calling me tonight though, so I'll find out what their plans are for visiting."  
"Well just let me know and we'll arrange something. Oh, Paige, that stuff is fragile, just put it on the front seat for me would you? You girls don't mind squeezing in the back do you?" The car was full of boxes for the fundraiser and Emily would practically be sitting on Paige's knee if they both sat in the back. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat she tried to insist she could just drive her car over and meet them, but Lauren was having none of it. "Nonsense, there's no use in wasting your fuel. There's plenty room in the back, and you can come back for dinner after the church." She started ushering the two teenagers towards the back of the car and Emily had no choice but to climb in after Paige.

"I'm so sorry about this." Paige apologised for the umpteenth time as they stood behind a cake stand in the church hall.  
"It's fine." Emily assured her as she wrapped a slice of carrot cake in a napkin and handed it over to an elderly lady who was busy counting out nickels and pennies to pay her. "I'm having fun."  
"Wow Fields, your idea of fun is _way_ different to mine."  
"I'm with you, so I'm having fun." Emily grinned, enjoying the way an adorable blush spread over her girlfriend's cheeks. Paige lost her smile as she noticed one of her neighbours watching her and Emily, her beady little eyes narrowed on the two teenagers. She took a subconscious step back as the woman clucked her tongue and turned her back on them. Walking right over to Paige's mother.

Paige felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest as she watched her neighbour pointing over towards her and Emily. "Hey, are you ok?" Emily asked, concern written all over her face as she took in how pale the other girl had grown. She shook her head, her words choking inside of her throat as her mother excused herself and made her way over to the girls, pulling them aside.  
"Girls, Helena Frost has raised some…concerns." Paige felt close to passing out as her blood rushed to her head, becoming a deafening roar in her ears. Emily went to put a hand out to steady her, but she pulled away before she could touch her.  
"What about?" Emily asked, seeing as Paige had suddenly grown mute. She held her jaw tight, waiting for the inevitable. She really liked Lauren and she had hoped that she would be more understanding than her husband.

"Apparently her niece goes to school with you and she's informed Helena that Emily is gay. She seems to think that you might be a bad influence on my daughter, Emily." Lauren turned her attention to Emily and she wished that Paige would just take her hand and stop her from feeling like she was two inches tall. She opened her mouth, getting ready to defend herself, but the impish smile that crossed Lauren's face caught her completely off guard. "And I told _her _that I would prefer my daughter spending time with you, rather than her pot-head niece. Come tell me if she bothers you again." She put her hand on Emily's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly before making her way back over to the stall she was supposed to be tending.

Emily managed to nod at her as Paige just stared after her, her pulse finally slowing as she realised she hadn't just been outed. "That was close." She sighed, slumping to sit down on the rickety wooden chair behind her. "God I hate Mrs Frost." She sneered at her neighbour, though the woman's back was still turned towards them so it went unnoticed.  
"Paige, your mom…do you think…I mean, she seems really cool with me being-"  
"My mom doesn't have a problem with gay people Emily; I know that, I do." Paige picked up on where she was headed and cut her off before she could get there. "But I think she'd have something to say about her only daughter being a lesbian." She whispered the last part to stop anyone overhearing her. "Maybe you should talk to her?" Emily suggested. Telling her parents had been one of the hardest things she had ever faced in her life, and she was plagued almost daily by a psychopath so that was _definitely _saying something.  
"Em, we talked about this! I thought you were ok with the way things are?" Paige snapped, her fear and anxiety were coming out as anger and once again being directed at the wrong person.  
"I was…I am!" Emily insisted as Paige turned to walk away from her, wanting to avoid another argument. She caught her hand and a small part of her was glad to register that Paige didn't try and pull away from her touch. "I just think she might have already guessed about us."

**A/N: Sorry for how long it's taken me to update! I started messing around with the idea for a Paily mini-fic and it turned in to me spending a straight week writing and posting it. I'm back on this one though and I've got a better idea of where I'm going with it so hopefully updates should be more frequent again. As ever thanks for reading and for the encouraging feedback! **


	7. Chapter 7

"She can't know! There's no way she can-" Paige was bordering on a meltdown as she hissed at Emily in a corner of the church. She fell quiet as her father walked over to them. He was dressed in a smart pair of slacks and an immaculate polo shirt, like he'd just walked out of the Tennis Club. It was the first time Emily had seen him in anything other than a suit and tie and he looked more at ease as he wrapped an arm around Paige and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  
"Thanks for helping out Champ. You too Emily, it's nice to see young people doing their bit."  
"Happy to help." Emily managed a smile, but it was strained as she watched Paige squirming on the spot. She was terrified that Emily could be right, that Lauren McCullers could have worked out they were far more than friends. Emily was just waiting for the moment that Paige would push her away, and everything they'd worked so hard towards would once again be lost because Paige wasn't ready for the world to know who she was.

"Lauren tells me you're joining us for dinner?" Nick carried on addressing Emily, oblivious to the panic in his daughter's eyes. Suddenly the idea of having Emily over for dinner sounded a little too daunting.  
"Maybe. I should check with Hanna's mom-"Emily started, trying to give Paige a little room so she wouldn't feel cornered. Things never seemed to turn out so well between them whenever Paige was panicking.  
"I'm sure she'll be fine with you coming over. We'll order takeout, sound good Champ?" He dismissed Emily's attempts to get out of dinner and turned his attention back to Paige.  
"Sounds great." She choked out, her voice catching in her throat as she looked anywhere but at her girlfriend.  
"Great! You girls keep up the good work!"

He left the two of them by their stall and a heavy silence settled over them. Paige threw herself in to serving the people who came by the stall. The church fundraiser was getting pretty busy and they had no time to talk. Emily wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not as she watched Paige working hard on keeping her emotions in check. As they were working their hands brushed against one another and Paige almost shot out of her skin, her eyes widening in a blind panic as she drew back her hand and looked around to see if anyone had witnessed it happening. "Paige, please don't do this…" Emily sighed, her own eyes pleading as the other girl shoved her hands in to the pockets of her jeans. "I'm trying to be patient because I care about you, but I can't keep doing this-"  
"Can we not talk about this here, please?" Paige snapped at her, forcing a smile and a wave as her mother looked over at them. Emily opened her mouth to object, but the other girl cut her off. "We'll talk about it, ok? We will! Just not now." She stepped closer to Emily and placed a hand on the small of her back as she leant over to pick up a cupcake. To anyone watching the action would look innocent enough, but Paige lightly ran her fingers in small circles against the flesh exposed just beneath her t-shirt, eliciting a shudder from the other girl and giving her a small reassurance that she wasn't pulling away.  
"Ok." Emily agreed; swallowing hard as Paige eventually pulled her hand back.

The fate finally wrapped up around five and the girls headed towards Paige's mom's car. "Shotgun!" Paige called, laughing as she slipped ahead of Emily and took the front passenger seat. They had been pretty squashed together in the back on the way over and she didn't want a repeat performance if her mother really was suspicious of them. Emily rolled her eyes at her childishness and opened the rear door.  
"Hey Emily, why don't you stay over at our house tonight?" Lauren suggested, stopping Emily in her tracks as she was about to slip in to the car. "Nick can drop you at the Marrin's to pick up some things while he gets the pizza. We'll get some movies in, it'll be fun!"  
"Uh…" Emily faltered, not sure how to politely decline the invitation.  
"Great, you jump in Nick's car and we'll see you back at the house." Lauren didn't wait for an answer and Emily found herself being shepherded in to Nick McCullers car. He looked about as confused as Emily.

"Movie night?" Paige questioned as she watched her dad drive off with Emily in his front seat. She was starting to think Emily was right. What if her mom did know something was going on between them? What if her dad knew? She was almost hyperventilating just thinking about what he would be saying to Emily.  
"What? I thought it would be nice to have a family night." Lauren shrugged. If she really did know anything then her face wasn't giving it away.  
"Since when is Emily 'family'?" Paige knew she should have just kept her mouth shut, but she was a McCullers and she had a hard time backing down; especially when she thought she was being played.  
"Paige, the girl has practically been joined to you by the hip for the last few weeks. It's like having a second daughter." She laughed, either ignoring or missing the panic on her actual daughter's face. "Besides, I'm sure she's missing her family right now. A little family time might be good for her, even if it's not with her own."  
"Oh." Paige felt her panic subsiding as she realised her mother was just trying to include Emily because she was her friend, nothing more.

Knowing her secret was safe she decided to test the waters a little bit. "Thanks for what you said back at the church. Emily didn't exactly have it easy when she…when she first came out." She kept her eyes on the road in front of her, not daring to look at her mom in case she gave something away.  
"Yes, well your father played a part in that; and he's sorry. He knows Emily is a lovely girl he just…overreacted."  
"Because Emily got anchor over me?" Paige clarified. She felt like they were having an entirely different conversation and she once again found herself questioning just what her parents knew.  
"You know how he gets." Lauren didn't quite answer the question as she patted her daughter's knee. "He just wants what's best for you, Paige. He doesn't always show it right, but he does. We both do."  
"Thanks. I guess." Paige mumbled, already pulling her phone out to check up on Emily.

Emily smiled as she got her text asking if she was ok. She didn't get a chance to reply though as Nick walked over to her. He stood holding a handful of DVDs and peered over Emily at the selection she was looking at. They'd swung by Hanna's on the way to the movie store so that Emily could pick up an overnight bag and then they were heading back to the McCullers' once they had the movies and the pizza. "So you like those girly movies?" He commented, more trying to make small talk than anything else. The ride in the car had been painfully silent, with Nick not really sure what to say to his daughter's friend.

"I thought Lauren and Paige would like them." Emily shrugged. She preferred a good horror movie, but she didn't think Mrs McCullers would want to watch 'Zombie House 4' or 'Revenge of the Living Dead'. "Is that Dead Snow? And Cemetery Man? That's a classic!" Emily was impressed with his choices. She hadn't had Mr McCullers down as a horror kind of man, though it would probably explain why Paige was so in to them too.  
"You like horrors?" Nick quizzed, a hint of a smile breaking through on to his face. "Lauren hates them. Though between me you and Paige we might just swing the vote." He winked at her conspiratorially and Emily found herself grinning back at him.

"How about we pick up something she can watch too? Then we can watch the zombie movies?" Emily suggested, getting a nod of approval in response. "  
"Good idea. You pick one of those 'chick flicks' then we'll head over to the pizza shop. You know if you like zombie movies I have the uncut version of 'Let Sleeping Corpses Lie'. Now _that's _a classic!" Nick's usual frosty demeanour was thawing out as they made their way to the counter to rent the movies they'd picked up and Emily managed to send Paige a quick text reassuring her that everything was fine. Once they'd been served they walked to the pizza place across the street to place their order.

"So how do you like your pizza?" Nick asked as he held the door open for her, ever the southern gentleman.  
"Spicy." Emily replied, drawing a full on smile from the older man.  
"Me too." With their mutual love of horror movies and spicy food established Paige's father seemed far less intimidating to her girlfriend. They talked about their favourite horror movies while they waited for dinner and Nick was halfway through his top ten list of zombie movies when they're order was finally ready. He led Emily back to the car, letting her hold the pizza boxes as he slipped in to the driver's seat. He didn't start the car right away though; he sat with his hands on the wheel for a few moments before turning to face Emily.

"I'm sorry about the fuss I made about your…sexual preference." Nick almost seemed to choke on the words, but he soldiered on. "I was wrong to blame your sexuality on Paige losing the anchor spot. I know you're very talented, if a little lax with your commitments-" His apology was bordering on the offensive side and Emily tried to stop him from carrying on, afraid he would say something that was a step too far if she let him continue. She was finally starting to feel at ease around Paige's father and she didn't want to lose that feeling so soon.  
"Mr McCullers you've already apologised-"  
"Yes, but I didn't mean it back then." Nick admitted; talking about his apology like it had happened years back and not just a short few weeks ago.  
"Oh." Emily didn't know what else to say.

"But I mean it now." Nick clarified for her. "I have to admit I was _apprehensive _of Paige spending so much time with you, but she seems to be happy and from what I've heard you're both making good times in the water. I just hope that your _commitment _issues won't affect what could be a great season for you both. The Sharks could take nationals this year." Emily immediately wanted to go on the defensive as he accused her of having commitment issues, but a nagging part of her brain couldn't help but think that he wasn't really talking about the Sharks, so she decided to tread lightly.  
"Mr McCullers, I know I don't have the best track record, but I can promise you that I am fully committed to…the team."  
"Good." Nick nodded at her as he finally started the car and put it in to gear. "Paige needs a little healthy competition to keep her on her toes." And just like that they were definitely talking about swimming again and Emily could relax a little in to her chair.

By the time they reached Paige's house she had come to the decision to keep her and Nick's little talk to herself. Paige had reacted badly enough to Emily suggesting that her mother knew about them, if she thought her dad did too then she'd probably have a full on melt down. When they went inside they found Paige and Lauren in the living room, already camped out in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn. Lauren was sipping a glass of wine and Paige was sitting with a soda. Emily took a seat next to her on the sofa while Nick fetched some plates for their pizza. "What movies did you pick up?" Lauren asked as he came back in to the living room, holding two plates and vicariously balancing two more on his forearms. When his wife reached for one of the plates he shook his head.  
"No the hot one's mine and Emily's. And we took a vote on the movies in your absence." Nick shared a smirk with Emily as Lauren frowned at the selection they'd picked up.  
"Ok you two are never going to the movie store alone again. If you're making me watch these you're getting me more wine." Lauren teased, kissing Nick's cheek as he sat down beside her. Emily smiled at the pair of them. They reminded her of her own parents and it felt nice to be included in their family night. It felt good to be a bigger part of Paige's life, rather than skirting around on the edges of it.

They made it on to the second horror movie before Lauren gave up. Finishing off what was left of her wine she stretched and patted Nick's knee. "Ready for bed?" He had been nodding off for almost an hour so he sighed in agreement as pulled himself up to his feet.  
"'Night girls, not too late." He pressed a kiss to Paige's cheek and headed up the stairs.  
"Goodnight." Lauren kissed her daughter's forehead before wrapping and arm around Emily. She waited for Nick to make it halfway up the stairs before whispering. "There's some wine left in the fridge if you want it."  
"Thanks mom, night."

Paige was in serious need of something to calm her nerves, so she left Emily on the couch and went off in to the kitchen. When she came back she was holding a half empty bottle of wine and two glasses. She filled them up, emptying the bottle and handed one over to Emily before sitting back down beside her. She shifted and placed a cushion against her chest, letting Emily lie down against her. They had been sitting on opposite end of the couch all night and it had nearly killed Paige not being able to reach out and pull her in closer. She ran her fingers along Emily's side, basking in the simple fact that she _could._

She knew Emily had expected her to shut down and push her away earlier, and she had been pretty close to doing just that; but no matter how scared she was of her parents finding out about her, she was even more afraid of losing Emily again. She couldn't give the other girl up. It just wasn't an option anymore. She'd have to find a way to summon the courage to tell her parents the truth about her and Emily's relationship and she had a feeling she was running out of time. "I love you." She muttered against Emily's hair as they lay there on the couch, neither of them really paying any attention to the television. Emily's eyes were closed over as Paige carried on caressing her side, but they snapped open as she took in what the other girl had said to her.  
"I know." Her lips curled in to a smile as she shifted to look up at Paige. She wasn't quite ready to say it back, but Paige didn't seem to be expecting her to as she tilted her head forward to kiss her. She had waited a long time to have Emily all to herself, and just having her there with her was enough.

They lay on the couch for a little while longer, until Paige heard the sound of Emily snoring softly. She watched her sleeping for a moment, still amazed that the other girl was with her at all. She pressed her lips to Emily's cheek, softly trailing kisses along her jaw until she reached her lips. Emily stirred, sighing softly as her lips moved to meet the other girl's. "Ok, Superstar, time for bed."  
"Mhmm." Emily mumbled, making no attempt to move. She was too comfortable, draped over Paige.  
"Come on, Ems." Paige wriggled out from under her and tugged her to her feet, leading her upstairs in the dark. It had only been a few short weeks since the first time Emily had set foot in her room, yet so much had changed between them.

Paige herself had changed. There was a chance that her mom knew her deepest secret, yet instead of filling Paige with a sense of dread, it almost had the opposite effect. She felt relief; and she wasn't pushing Emily away, she was pulling her in closer. The other girl inspired a kind of courage inside of her that Paige hadn't even known she was capable of. Coming out to the world had once seemed like the most daunting thing in the world, but with Emily curled up beside her, it didn't seem like such a big deal. She was in love with Emily Fields, and she wasn't going to hide it anymore.

That didn't exactly mean she was going to wake up and out herself at the breakfast table the next morning. She still needed to consider how to broach the subject with her parents, and just because her mom seemed ok with the idea of there being a Paige and Emily, that didn't mean her dad wouldn't have a meltdown over it. She needed to figure out the best course of action; and she'd probably need to give Emily a heads-up first. The last thing she wanted was for Emily to bear the brunt of her father's wrath; again.

* * *

"Sorry I had to leave straight after breakfast, but I have tons of homework to catch up on." Emily apologised as she slipped her key in to the lock of Hanna's front door. It was early Sunday morning and she expected both Hanna and her mom to still be sleeping. She was surprised when Ashley met her in the hallway. "I've got to go. I'll call you later. Hi Ashley, you're up early. Is everything ok?" Hanna's mom looked a little apprehensive as she glanced over her shoulder at the door that led to the living room.  
"Everything's fine. At least I think it is. You've got a visitor. She's waiting in the living room-" Emily's face lit up as she rushed ahead of Ashley to open the door.  
"Mom said she wasn't getting here till Fri-" Emily froze in her tracks as she spotted her 'visitor', sitting waiting for her on the couch. She stood up as she caught sight of Emily and her hands found their way to the back pockets of her jeans as a smile made its way across her lips.  
"Hi, Em."  
"Maya?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Maya, what are you doing here?" Emily stared at the other girl like she was some kind of apparition, not trusting what she was seeing with her own eyes. Maya was back. She was back in Rosewood and just standing there smiling at her like nothing had changed. Like she hadn't spent months ignoring Emily's calls and texts.  
"I came to see you…I've missed you." She tried taking a step towards her, but Emily took a wary step back as she folded her arms over her chest.  
"And how long have you been out of True North?" Emily challenged, already knowing the answer long before the other girl opened her mouth to answer. The guilt was written all over her face.

"A few weeks." She admitted sheepishly. "I needed some time. To think about us-"  
"There isn't any _us_." Emily felt her anger getting the better of her. Maya couldn't just expect to walk back in to her life and pick up like nothing had changed. Things were different now. "You made that perfectly clear when you stopped bothering to speak to me…Was there someone else? Well, was there?" She snapped as Maya just stood there staring at her.  
"There was. For a bit. I was angry at your mom for what happened, and with you…Lyndon was just there for me-"  
"Lyndon? You left me for a guy?"  
"Emily, don't be childish." Maya rolled her eyes. Like it was no big deal that she'd gone with someone else. "I screwed up, I get that! I didn't come here to argue with you. I came to apologise."  
"Well you're doing an astounding job."

"Emily, please. This isn't how I wanted this to go." Maya took another step forward, taking Emily's hands in hers. "Just give me another chance-"  
"I'm seeing someone." Emily pulled back, stuffing her hands in to the pockets of her jeans. Maya's face fell as she realised she wasn't the only one who had moved on. She drew back, suddenly unsure of what to say or do.  
"Anyone I know?" Maya tried to sound aloof as she put some distance between them, but Emily knew she was hurting too. Emily felt a stab of pain as she watched her, but her resolve didn't weaken. She had loved Maya once, with all of her heart, but she hadn't given that a second thought when she'd gone off with some guy at True North. She had left Emily heartbroken; leaving Paige to pick up the pieces.

"No." Emily answered honestly. Maya and Paige had never met. They had probably passed each other in the halls at school, but as far as Emily knew they'd never actually spoken. When Emily didn't offer anything further Maya just nodded. Heading towards the door to leave, she paused and turned back around to face her ex-girlfriend. "No matter what you think, it was real. What we had. I loved you."  
"I loved you too." Emily admitted, her eyes welling up as she fought the impulse to give in and go to the other girl. "I still care about you…but I'm not _in _love with you. Not anymore. I'm sorry."  
"Yeah, me too."

She left the room just as Emily's knees buckled and she slumped down against the couch. She covered her face with her hands as the first tears fell and sobs wracked her body. The living room door opened again and she quickly wiped at her cheeks, thinking May had come back to carry on fighting. After all, it wasn't in her nature to just back down. "Emily, dear." Ashley sighed as she caught sight of the distraught teen. She took a seat beside her and wrapped her arms around her, embracing her the way only a mother could. Emily missed her own mom. She missed having her around to go to when her world was falling apart. She felt utterly spent as she cried against Ashley's shoulder. She was tired and emotionally drained and her side was still aching. Everything was building up on top of her, threatening to smother her if she didn't break back up to the surface.

Once she heard Hanna was up she excused herself, thanking Ashley for being there for her before she fled up to the room she shared with Hanna. As she closed the door behind her though she was reminded that it wasn't _her_ room. She missed her own room so much, and her parents; she missed being _home. _

Knowing her mood wasn't going to improve any time soon, she pulled out her homework and lay down on her bed to make a start. Ashley must have told Hanna to give her a wide birth, because she didn't even hear her say goodbye as she left to go meet Caleb. Emily was glad of the time to herself though. After a couple of hours she'd made a pretty good dent in the work she had to do, and had managed to calm herself down in the process. When her phone started ring beside her she sniffed and cleared her throat before answering. "Hello?"  
"Hey, Superstar." Emily felt her lips tug up in to a smile as she heard Paige's voice on the other end of the phone. "So I know you're busy, and I'm not supposed to be bugging you, but I was wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch with me at the Brew? My treat?"  
"You're not bugging me." Emily reassured her, though her smile wavered as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She looked a mess. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were strained with tears. As happy as she was to hear from Paige, she didn't feel up to having any company. She also wasn't looking forward to telling her that Maya was back in town. "I do have a lot to do though. Can I just see you at school tomorrow?"  
"Sure." She heard Paige's voice waver and she felt bad for not agreeing to meet her. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Paige hung up and frowned at her phone. Something was wrong with Emily. She hadn't said anything, but she had heard it in her voice. She had wanted to take her to lunch to talk about telling her parents about them. She supposed it would just have to wait. She had spent most of the weekend with Emily after all, and she still had homework of her own to finish off. After that was done she would just need to find some way to entertain herself that didn't involve Emily. The Sharks had a pretty big meet coming up on Friday afternoon, so she probably should have used her free afternoon to practise; but with the snow still lying outside it wasn't like Paige could use her own pool and she didn't want to trail to the public one alone.

She sighed as she sat down at her desk and pulled out her books from her school bag. Part of her wanted to call Emily and work on getting her to change her mind about lunch, but something had sounded off in the other girl's voice and she got the feeling she needed some time to herself. Paige suspected it was because of what she'd said the night before. Emily had rushed off after breakfast and she'd sounded a little distant on the phone. Maybe Paige had spooked her by saying the 'L' word too soon? "Stupid." She shook her head as she let out another sigh. She had fought so hard to get Emily back; she didn't want to lose her because she was pushing for too much too soon. She'd give her some space and a little time and with any luck she'd still be there to have Paige's back when she came out to her parents.

* * *

"Hey Han, Em not with you?" Paige quizzed as she watched the blonde climb out of her car. Caleb followed her, nodding a silent greeting towards Paige. She'd been waiting by the front steps for Emily for over twenty minutes. They usually met the same time every morning for coffee, yet the other girl seemed to be running late. Paige had thought she might be riding in with Hanna, but there was no sign of her.  
"She's not coming in today. She was up most of the night throwing up. I didn't even bother waking her up this morning. She'll probably call you when she's awake." Hanna offered as she watched Paige pull out her phone to check up on her.

Paige wanted to check she was ok, but she didn't want to wake her if she had been up all night, so she put her phone away and decided to press Hanna for more information instead. "Was it something she ate or is she sick?" She'd seemed fine the day before, though she had rushed off after breakfast and Paige hadn't heard from her for the rest of the day.  
"I dunno. I was out with Caleb most of yesterday and she was in bed when I got home. Mom said she was upset over something, but that I'd have to ask her about it; but as soon as she woke up she just ran for the bathroom and then it was all-"  
"I get the picture." Paige cut off her rambling before she could get too visual. "Thanks. I'll call her later. Here, enjoy." She handed over the two cups of coffee she had been holding and went off to find Pru.

"So you're talking to me today?" Pru teased as Paige walked up to her as she was opening her locker. "Where's your girl?"  
"She's off sick." Paige answered sheepishly, ashamed to be caught out by her best friend. "Sorry I haven't been around much lately, I just…things with Em-"  
"Relax, Paige. I get it. You're all loved up and you don't have time for us lesser beings."  
"That's not it at all! We just got roped in to this church thing with my parents Saturday and then-"  
"You told your parents about the two of you? Wow, and your dad_ hasn't _shipped you off to a convent yet?"  
"They don't _know _about us yet. Well, at least I don't think they do."  
"But you _are _planning on telling them?"  
"I don't know." Paige sighed as she slumped against the locker next to Pru's. She had been sure about telling her parents when she'd had the reassuring warmth of Emily pressed against her side, but now she wasn't so sure. Was Emily really sick? Or was she just avoiding her because of what she'd said? Had she freaked her out by saying she loved her? Paige didn't know. Suddenly she wasn't sure of anything.

She wanted to call Emily. To check she was ok and to check that _they _were still ok. She couldn't take a whole day without knowing. "I need to see Em."  
"I thought she was off sick." Pru frowned, not following her logic. "Hey, where are you going? Homeroom is that way!" She called after her as Paige headed back towards the front entrance.  
"I know. I'm skipping."  
"You're so going in to a convent." Pru shook her head as she followed after her. Paige had never skipped a day of school in her life. She caught her by the wrist and started dragging the protesting girl towards their homeroom class. "You go to registration and _then _you skip."  
"Thanks." Paige smiled, she was glad she still had her best friend on side. She was anxious to see Emily, but she didn't want to get caught skipping. Her dad would ground her for the rest of her life.

She followed Pru's advice and slipped out after first period. She sent Hanna a text asking for her address before getting on her bike and heading to Main Street. She stopped at the flower shop while she was waiting for Hanna to get back to her and picked out a big bunch of colourful flowers. She didn't know their names, but she figured they would cheer Emily up if she was sick. She smiled and shook her head at herself. She was buying her girlfriend flowers. It seemed surreal, but Emily was hers. She could buy her flowers and skip to school to make sure she was ok when she was sick. She could kiss her and tell her she loved her. She couldn't lose that.

Carrying the flowers in one hand she crossed the road to head to the Brew for some hot chocolate. It would be easier on Emily's stomach if she was still feeling sick. She opened the door and almost walked in to the girl who was heading. "Sorry, excuse…" She trailed off as she found herself staring at the last person she wanted to see. "You're back."  
"I am." Maya offered her an amused smile as she looked the girl who had just ran in to her up and down. She'd seen her around Rosewood High, back when she'd gone there, but she'd just been a face in the crowd. "And you are?"  
"Screwed…I mean, Paige. I'm Paige."  
"Nice to meet you, Paige." Maya held her hand out and Paige reluctantly shifted the flowers to her other hand to shake it. She felt like she was in some kind of dream; or more like a nightmare. Did Emily know Maya was back? Was that why she was avoiding her? "Flowers? Someone's a lucky girl." She gave her a knowing smile, as though they had shared the secret handshake to announce their sexuality.  
"Actually, I'm the lucky one. Excuse me." Paige backed out of the coffee shop, giving up on the idea of getting anything. She _had _to see Emily.

"Wait, you're on the swim team aren't you? With Emily?" Maya's eyes narrowed as she placed the other girl and all the pieces fell in to the place. "You really are the lucky one." Paige felt her fists tightening at her sides as Maya stared her down. So she had seen Emily; or she'd at least spoken to her recently enough to know Emily was seeing someone.  
"Yeah." Paige shot back, already walking away from her and heading for her bike. "I am."

She unchained her bike and rode off, putting as much distance between her and Maya as she could. When she finally stopped to check her phone she found Hanna had sent her the address. Hanna's street wasn't far from where she was, but she took her time getting there. She needed to calm down before confronting Emily about her ex. She didn't even know for sure if Emily knew that Maya was back in town. She needed to keep a level head, or she'd risk everything blowing up in her face. When she finally got to Hanna's house she rang the doorbell and waited for Emily to answer. When she got no response she tried it again. She was just about to turn around and walk away when she saw a figure appear behind the glass. It slowly shuffled its way towards the door.

Emily was wrapped in a blanket when she finally answered and she looked like she'd just dragged herself out of bed. "Paige? What time is it? Shouldn't you be in class?" She squinted against the harsh light of the sun as she stepped aside to let the other girl in the house.  
"Hanna said you weren't feeling well. So I came to make sure you were ok…oh, and I got you these." She held up the flowers, which had surprisingly lasted the journey over quite well. Emily's eyes lit up a little at the sight of them.  
"You got me flowers?"  
"Uh, yeah. Lame I know." Paige tried to laugh it off, suddenly self-conscious.  
"No, it's sweet! Nobody's ever bought me flowers before." She smiled as she took the bouquet from her and led Paige in to the kitchen to fetch a vase.

"Here, let me." Paige took over arranging the flowers in the vase of water as Emily winced and clutched at her stomach. She sat down at the table, almost doubled over in pain. "Are you ok? Do you want me to call my mom?  
"No, I'm fine. I just feel really sick and my stomach hurts. I think maybe it's a bug or something."  
"I hope you're feeling better by Friday. We need our Superstar if we're going to win. Aren't your parents coming back for the meet?"  
"Yeah, they're coming up for the weekend." Emily was looking forward to seeing them in person again. It just wasn't the same talking to them on Skype. "I should be fine by Friday."

It was the perfect time for Paige to bring up Emily's other visitor to town, but she found she couldn't do it. Part of her wanted to know if Emily knew about Maya being back, but an even bigger part of her was scared of what she'd say. She didn't want to lose Emily again and she was terrified that even acknowledging Maya was back would change things between them. "You should get some rest. Let's get you in to bed." She pressed her lips to Emily's forehead, noticing how hot and clammy her skin was. She was running a fever.  
"Ashley has a no girlfriends upstairs policy." Emily managed a small laugh, making Paige flush.  
"I didn't mean…I wasn't trying…I meant _you _should go back to bed. Get some sleep."  
"I know what you meant." Emily smiled, letting Paige help her back up to her feet.

She took on most of Emily's weight as they slowly made their way upstairs to the room she shared with Hanna. Emily climbed back in to bed and lay down, pulling Paige along with her. "Em, you need your rest."  
"I need _you_." Emily objected in an almost petulant whine. "Please, just stay for a little while? I promise not to give you my bug."  
"Ok, just for a little while." Paige kicked off her sneakers as she settled down next to her and wrapped her arms around her waist. "We uh…we need to talk later though. When you're feeling up to it."  
"What about?" Emily mumbled, her eyes already closing over as Paige gently rubbed her stomach for her in slow soothing circles and kissed her neck.  
"Nothing important. It can wait."


	9. Chapter 9

"We're going to be late if you don't pick up the pace, Fields!" Paige teased as Emily carried on staring at the fresh pastries behind the counter in The Brew. They'd already been waiting in line for almost ten minutes and Emily had yet to make up her mind. It was Wednesday morning and after two days of felling ill she finally had her appetite back.  
"I can't decide what I want." Emily spared a second from inspecting the baked goods on offer to look back at her girlfriend with a pout and Paige felt her heart melting right there on the spot. How could she ever even try to act annoyed with her when Emily could pull off such amazing feats of cuteness so early in the morning? The simple truth was she couldn't. That was one of the reasons she still hadn't mentioned seeing Maya. She didn't want to risk what she had with Emily by bringing her ex up. If Emily knew Maya was back in town then she hadn't mentioned it either and Paige didn't even want to think about the reasons behind that, so she chose a path she was familiar with and decided to stick with denial.

"I guess there's only one thing for it then." She caught the server's attention with a wave of her hand. "Can we have one of everything please, and an extra bear claw?" The young guy behind the counter nodded and started filling a bag with half a dozen pastries.  
"Paige you really don't have to!" Emily protested as the other girl handed over a ten dollar bill to pay for their breakfast.  
"I am entitled to buy my girlfriend breakfast when I want to." Paige stuck her tongue out at her with a grin as she picked up their coffees, letting Emily take the bag of goodies.  
"Well in that case, I'm entitled to invite my girlfriend over for dinner tonight."  
"That is your prerogative." Paige agreed, laughing as Emily rolled her eyes at her and deliberately knocked in to her shoulder on the way out the door. Their hands slipped together and neither of them bothered to pull apart. Paige McCullers was walking down Main Street, holding her girlfriend's hand, and the world hadn't ended… Yet.

"Hi Em." Paige froze in her tracks as a familiar voice greeted them on the way over to the car. Maya was standing beside Emily's Toyota with her own cup of coffee in her hands and an easy smile on her face. She didn't look remotely fazed by seeing Emily and Paige together. Paige on the other hand, felt close to hysterics as she bit down on her tongue. Emily looked shocked at seeing Maya standing there, but she didn't look like a girl who was seeing her ex for the first time in months. Paige felt her stomach twisting in to painful spasms as she realised that Emily had known all along. She'd known Maya was back and she hadn't bothered to mention it to her. Her hand dropped away from the other girl's, but Emily didn't seem to notice.  
"Hi Maya." She wore a neutral expression, aware of her girlfriend watching her warily out of the corner of her eye. "What are you doing here?"

Maya shrugged as she pushed herself up off Emily's car and Paige found herself pettily checking the paintwork; as if Maya scratching the car could stop her from stealing Emily back. "I haven't started at my new school yet. I thought I'd come see if you wanted to play hooky with me? Your friend can come too." She offered, though she was looking at Paige like she was something she'd stepped in.  
"Girlfriend." Emily corrected, taking Paige's hand back in her own. Even if it was only to prove a point it was still something, some small sign for Paige to cling to as tightly as she was holding Emily's hand. "And we can't. We have practise today. There's a meet on Friday."  
"Maybe some other time?" Maya shrugged like Emily saying no to her was no big deal. Paige felt a mix of anger and resentment. Maya always seemed to be able to act so cool. Had Emily Fields publicly rejected _her _like that, Paige would have found the nearest hole to crawl under and stayed there.

"Maybe." Emily replied without really committing herself to anything. "We're running late. I'll see you around."  
"Sure thing… nice to see you again, Paige." Maya shot her a sickly sweet smile as she pretty much announced to Emily that they had met before. A heavy silence sat between the two girls as they climbed in to Emily's car. Emily just sat staring out of the windscreen with her hands on the wheel, her attention obviously elsewhere.  
"Cars usually work better when you turn the engine on?" Paige suggested, trying to break the tension between them with a joke. Emily's eyes closed over as she took a breath. That wasn't a good sign. Paige could feel her palms getting sweaty as she waited for the inevitable storm that was about to hit.

"How does Maya know your name?" Paige could have told her that they'd met before the other girl had left, but there was no point in lying and Maya wasn't _her _ex. Emily was the one who had done wrong by not admitting she was back. Paige had nothing to feel bad about, though that didn't stop her from feeling guilty as she answered.  
"I bumped in to her in The Brew on Monday when I was heading over to see if you were ok. You weren't well and I didn't want to tell you I'd seen her and upset you…but you already knew she was back, didn't you?" She tried to keep the accusation out of her voice, but she had never been known for handling her emotions very well. She had so many different thoughts and feelings running around inside of her that she didn't know where to start in dealing with them as Emily nodded.

"She turned up at Hanna's on Sunday. She was waiting for me when I got back from your place." Emily admitted, her own guilt playing out across her face. "I didn't know how to tell you! I didn't want you getting the wrong idea!"  
"Yeah, because hiding your ex being back from me _definitely _gives the right impression, Em!" Paige sulked, hating that they were being drawn in to the very argument she had been trying to avoid. She just couldn't stop it though, it was like watching a car rolling towards a cliff and not being able to do anything because the breaks had been cut. Paige's breaks had definitely been cut.  
"I was trying to protect you!" Emily objected, her own anger getting the better of her as she watched Paige starting to shut down in front of her. "There is _nothing _between Maya and me anymore and I told her that!"  
"You clearly did a good job of that too." Paige commented dryly. She wanted to believe what Emily was telling her, but the self-destructive part of her was already looking for an excuse to take her happiness away from her.  
"What do you want me to say, Paige?" Emily snapped at her and Paige could feel her second chance with the other girl slipping through her fingers; or more accurately third chance, but who was counting?

She took a deep calming breath and tried to think rationally. "Tell me you haven't thought about her since she came back?" It was a small request, but Emily couldn't grant it. Her expression said it all.  
"Paige, I'm with you now. I…I might have thought about Maya occasionally, but you're the one I'm with."  
"I don't want to win by default, Em!" Paige scowled, though she quickly managed to recover what little part of her rationality was left; even that wasn't worth much. "I think you should see Maya."  
"What?"

"I mean you guys didn't exactly end things, maybe you just need to see her one time and get some closure or something."  
"And what if I figure out it isn't closure I want?" Emily asked, voicing her biggest fear. When Maya had turned up on Sunday she had gone from being elated to terrified in a matter of moments, instantly worrying about what it would mean for her and Paige. She had tried to keep Maya out of her life completely for fear of realising she still wanted her. Paige was right; if she had closure then she could be Maya's friend. By shutting Maya out completely she was just proving she hadn't dealt with her feelings yet.  
"Then I'll respect that." Paige somehow managed to choke the words out, but she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. If she lost Emily it would kill her, but she couldn't deny the other girl anything. She couldn't see Emily stay with her out of misplaced loyalty. She wanted to be Emily Fields' first choice, not her consolation prize.  
"Ok." Emily nodded, discreetly trying to wipe at her own eyes. She knew Paige was trying to do the right thing, but it felt a lot more like the other girl had stopped fighting for them. "I'll ask her for coffee tomorrow night."

* * *

"Damn it, McCullers! I thought we were over the trying to kill each other phase!" Spencer snapped as she picked herself up off the grass. The snow had finally cleared enough for them to get in some field hockey practise after school, though it was still damp and Spencer had a wet patch from where she'd fallen on her backside after a particularly rough tackle from the other girl.  
"Sorry." Paige apologised as she bent over trying to catch her breath. They'd been at it an hour and she'd known her temper was getting the better of her as her mind had continued to dwell on thoughts about Emily; or more specifically Emily _and _Maya. They'd barely spoken the day before, after their little encounter with Maya outside The Brew before school they had gone their separate ways for classes and even at swim practise they hadn't had much to say to each other. Emily hadn't mentioned her going over for dinner and Paige hadn't asked about it. She felt like she was losing her and it hurt more than she could put in to words.

Spencer watched her warily as she leant against her stick. "Is everything ok? You and Em seemed pretty quiet at lunch today?" Paige had only been roped in to having lunch with Emily and her friends because Hanna had caught her on her way out of Biology and had _physically _dragged her along to the canteen. She didn't seem to know anything but, like the rest of Emily's friends, she could tell that something was wrong between them and she was trying her best to push them together. Spencer was stood there doing the same and Paige suddenly knew what it was like to have the support of a network of friends; just one more thing she would lose if Emily chose Maya over her.

"It's complicated." Paige grunted as she turned her attention back to the ball and sent it soaring in to the back of the net with such force that it shook the metal frame of the goal.  
"Does it have anything to do with Maya being back in town?" Spencer suggested like some sort of all-knowing oracle. "Hanna mentioned that her mom had told her that Maya had turned up at their house to see Em on Sunday." So Emily hadn't told her friends about Maya either? Maybe that was something. Paige wasn't building up her hopes though.  
"Ok, maybe not that complicated." Paige huffed as she joined Spencer over on the porch and took a seat on her front steps. "I'm terrified I'm going to lose her, Spencer."  
"Well moping around here isn't going to do you much good in keeping her! Go spend some time with her, take her out, show her a good time…remind her why you're so much better for her than Maya is!"

"You really think I am?" Paige felt pride swelling up in her chest. Hastings had been pretty vocal about her dislike of her and had done everything she could to keep her away from Emily. Relations between them had thawed out a bit since their winning doubles game at the tennis club, but Paige had still been pretty certain that the other girl was only tolerating her for Emily's benefit.  
"Yes. I do." Spencer ground the words out like she was admitting a particularly embarrassing secret. "I don't say this often, and I am definitely not repeating myself, so listen up McCullers…I was wrong, about you. You're exactly what Emily needs. You're reliable and you're there for her, no matter what. Emily needs that kind of stability in her life right now. She doesn't need Maya screwing her up. So go tell her that! Only, maybe you could put it a little nicer than that?"

"I can't." The other girl sighed, causing Spencer to roll her eyes at her. 'Can't' was most certainly not a recognised word in the Hastings family dictionary. Sensing she was about to get an earful, Paige hastily added. "She's out tonight…with Maya."  
"Are you kidding me? You're here with me and she's out with Maya?" Spencer snapped, not quite able to believe her ears. "How the hell did that even happen, McCullers?"  
"I was trying to give her some space, to figure out what she wants…wasn't that the right thing to do?" Paige didn't exactly have any previous relationship experience to go off. She hadn't know what to do for the best, so she'd figured she'd do the noble thing and let Emily make up her mind.  
"No! No it was not! The decent thing? Yes; but the right thing? No! Girl's don't want you to just 'give them space' Paige. They want to see you fighting tooth and nail for them! They want to see you losing your mind with jealousy and pulling them in that bit closer! They want-"

"Emily doesn't really seem like that type of girl." Paige objected, though she knew what the other girl was saying was right. She shouldn't have just rolled over and allowed Maya to get her claws in to her. She should have dug her heels in and shown Emily all the reasons why _she _was the right choice, not her ex.  
"Please, she's a girl. _Every _girl is like that! You need to call her! Tell her not to meet Maya tonight!" Paige did as she was told and pulled her phone out of her bag, but then she stopped as her fingers hovered over Emily's name.  
"No! I can't be like that with her Spencer! I can't live my life thinking that she _settled _for me. I will fight for her with every last breath…but I need Em to fight for us too. I need to know that I'm the one she wants to be with." She slipped her phone back in to her pocket to avoid the temptation to try and contact her girlfriend. She had to trust Emily to make the right decision on her own.

Across the other side of town, Emily was sitting in The Brew waiting for Maya to show up. She'd gotten there a little bit early and was sat with her phone in her hands. She and Paige had barely said a word all day, but Emily had been hoping she would change her mind about letting her meet up with Maya. Even sitting there in the coffee shop she was still waiting for her to call. She finally looked up from her phone as Maya took the seat opposite her. "Hey."  
"Hi." Emily managed a small smile for the other girl. It was easier to be around her on her own, without worrying about what Paige would read in to a smile or a shared look. "I already ordered." She held up her hot chocolate. With a swim meet looming over her the next day she was trying to stay away from caffeine.

"Big meet tomorrow, huh?" Maya quizzed as she toyed with a packet of sugar that had been left on the table.  
"Yeah, we need to win to qualify for regionals…" Emily trailed off as she realised Maya was just trying to be polite. She didn't really have an interest in swimming. She was just making conversation. She didn't understand Emily's love of the water; not like Paige did. It was something they shared together and something they both loved.  
"Good luck with that." She could tell Maya was straining for conversation too. She didn't know how they had ended up like that. Not so long ago they had been in love, now they were sitting on opposites sides of the table, struggling to find something to say to each other like they were little more than strangers. Even when they did manage to find something to talk about, Maya filling her in on her family's move to the next town over, Emily was barely listening to her. Her thoughts kept going back to Paige.

It was the night before a meet and she would probably be going through all the little rituals that calmed her; though Emily knew her well enough to know she would be far from calm. She had a lot more than the swim meet on her mind. "Emily? Are you even here?" Maya tried to make a joke out of her lack of attention, but her smile faltered at Emily's answer.  
"No." She admitted honestly. "I'm sorry, but I'm not. I shouldn't be here." She stood up to leave and Maya copied her, reaching out to take her hand.

"Em, wait! Please, just give me a chance here!"  
"I'm in love with Paige." The words were blurted out of Emily's mouth before she could really think about them and she watched as the other girl's expression fell. She felt bad for being so blunt, but there was no way for her to keep everybody happy. Someone had to get hurt, and for once it wasn't going to be Paige. "We can still be friends. I'd really like us to be, but we can't be how we are. I'm sorry."

"Me too." Maya muttered as she stepped aside to let her go. She had thought that she had a chance of getting her back, especially when Emily had called to arrange to meet up with her for coffee, but she could finally see what was right in front of her. Emily had moved on. "She's lucky to have you, you know." Emily smiled and shook her head as she thought of all the little things that Paige had done for her over the weeks since they'd gotten together, from always letting her chose the movies they watched, to buying her breakfast and even carrying her books for her.  
"No. I'm the lucky one. I'll see you around, Maya."

Emily pulled her phone out the second she stepped out of The Brew and rang Paige's number, hoping to get through to her. It was a little after nine and she knew the other girl often went to bed early before a meet. The phone rang and rang on the other end and eventually clicked on to voicemail. Emily sighed, unable to hide her frustration at not getting through to her. "Hey Paige it's me, Em…obviously. Look, I just left The Brew and, well tonight was a mistake. I don't need closure from Maya. That part of my life is over. I want _you_ McCullers, and I want _us. _You're obviously asleep, so I'll see you for breakfast? My treat this time. Just give me a call back or something in the morning if you want me to pick you up. I…I'll see you tomorrow."


	10. Chapter 10

"Damn it! Where is it?" Paige sent the cushions on the couch flying behind her as she ripped them up in search of her phone. She had already been running late for school when she'd realised it was missing. What if Emily had tried to call her? Or worse, what if she hadn't? Her mind was a mess as she tore the living room apart looking for her cell. She'd already searched high and low in her room and had come up empty. She was just about to start ransacking the kitchen when her mom walked in through the front door, finally home after her night shift at the hospital. She took in the state of the living room and frowned as she put her purse down on the couch.  
"Have we been robbed?"  
"I can't find my phone!" Paige snapped, as though that simple statement alone should have explained all the mess. "I definitely had it last night, but now I can't find it anywhere!"

"Contrary to popular belief, the world will _not _end if you don't have your phone on you for one day." Lauren teased, unaware of the emotional crisis her daughter was going through.  
"It just might." Paige huffed, playing the part of a sulking teenager to the best of her ability as she slammed the fridge door shut. She hadn't really thought her phone would be in there, but she was covering all of her bases. She was running out of time to find it.  
"Paige." Her mother's expression softened as she picked up on her desperation. "I'm sure if _anybody_ needs to get in touch with you badly enough they'll find a way to reach you… Emily's probably waiting for you at school right now. I'll drive you over if you want?" She picked up her purse to get her car keys and headed back to the front door, but she stopped when she realised Paige wasn't following her. She was just standing there looking at her.

"You know don't you?" Paige finally spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. She stood staring at her mother, her hands clammy at her sides and a lump the size of an apple stuck in her throat.  
"Know what, dear?" Lauren played dumb. She had decided a long time ago that she was going to wait for Paige to give up her secrets in her own time. She wasn't going to push her in to anything she wasn't ready for.  
"You know about me Emily, don't you? You know I'm…I'm…" Paige was choking on her own words as she felt her eyes filling up. Was she ready for her parents to know about her and Emily? Was there even still a _her and Emily _for her to tell them about_? _She had been so sure just a few shorts days ago, but standing there in front of her mom, about to spill her guts, she felt the cold fingers of fear creeping over her.

She stared down at the ground, ashamed that she still couldn't be strong enough for Emily, ashamed that she couldn't be as brave as her. How could she blame her for choosing May over her? Paige couldn't even bring herself to admit how she felt about Emily to the people who mattered most. Taking a deep breath, and thinking about the girl who had given her the courage to do so much already, she clenched her fists and lifted her head to meet her mother's patient gaze. "I'm gay." The words were little more than a whisper, but they had finally left her lips and she felt some of the fear go along with them.

"I know sweetie. I've always known." Lauren closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her only child, squeezing her tight. She pressed her lips to Paige's hair as she carried on holding her while she sobbed in to her shoulder. "Emily's a great girl-" Paige let out another sob as her mother mentioned Emily.  
"I think I've lost her, Mom! I messed up and now I…I…"  
"Shhh." Lauren soothed, pushing her hair back out of her eyes. "I'm sure that's not true. I've seen the two of you together and I've seen the way she looks at you sweetie. You have nothing to worry about."

"Emily's ex, Maya, she's back in town, and I told her to go meet her last night… for closure or something." Paige admitted with a sigh as she finally pulled away from her mother and slumped against the stairs with her head in her hands. "She hasn't been in touch and now I've lost my phone and…and I'm scared of what she's going to say when I see her. I'm terrified that I'm going to lose her…again."  
"Oh." Was all Lauren managed to reply. She didn't know anything about Emily's ex-girlfriend, but she could tell Paige was worried sick. She took a seat next to her on the stairs and took hold of her hands. "Did I ever tell you how your father and I got together?"  
"You guys were in your last year of college." Paige sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, not sure how the mundane story of her parents getting together was supposed to help with anything.  
"We were when I finally said yes to him, but we'd met in my freshman year. Your dad was a year older and he was part of the debate society I'd joined. He must have asked me out twenty times before I said yes."

"Really?" Paige started to take an interest. She'd never heard that part of the story before.  
"Oh yeah, I though he was arrogant and single minded, and a little full of himself… So I dated a couple of guys in college, and very briefly one girl, which we will not be telling your father about." She added hastily as she took in the shock on Paige's face. "But you know your father, he doesn't like to take no for an answer; he never gave up and eventually he wore me down." She chuckled. Nick McCullers had pestered her for years; doing everything he could to impress her, before he'd finally won her over.

"You see Paige, my point is that we don't always realise who it is we're meant to be with. You and your dad have this amazing gift of faith, but for the rest of us it sometimes takes a couple of wrong decisions, and a few exes, to figure it out. You're not going to know if Emily's figured out what she wants by sitting here feeling sorry for yourself. You've got to be strong kiddo, one last time." Lauren patted her knee before getting to her feet and dragging Paige along with her. "Come on, we'll go grab a late breakfast and I'll drop you off at school for second period. After that you're on your own." She smiled as Paige perked up a bit at the suggestion. Her daughter had been pulling away from her for a long time and it was nice to finally have the distance between them gone.

"Sounds good… Mom, can we not tell Dad about this yet? At least until after the meet, I'd rather not have to worry about that on top of everything else I've got going on right now."  
"That's your choice, sweetie. You should really have a bit of faith in your father though. He has some…some very _strong _beliefs, but none of them are strong as his love for you. Just remember that, ok?"  
"Ok." Paige nodded in agreement as she slung her kit bag over her shoulder and followed her mom out to the car. Despite her mother's words of wisdom she wasn't about to go and tell her dad that she was gay and in love with Emily Fields. Admitting that to one parent was quite enough for one day; she also didn't want her dad lashing out at Emily because of her.

By the time she got to school second period was just starting and she didn't have time to look for Emily. She did run in to Spencer in the hall though. "Hey McCullers, you left this last night!" She pushed Paige's cell phone in to her hand on the way past her. She didn't really have time to stop and chat so Paige had to call after her.  
"Hey, thanks. Have you seen Em?"  
"Uh, not since homeroom…she looked a little pissed."  
"Great." Paige sighed as she shoved her phone in her locker. The battery had run flat so there was no point in carrying it with her. It seemed she just couldn't catch a break; she'd have to find Emily at lunch and just hope that they still had something to talk about.

"Em, you really shouldn't be at school if you're still sick!" Hanna frowned as Emily trudged out of the bathroom, cradling her stomach. She'd started throwing up again the night before when she'd gotten home from meeting Maya and she'd woken up with a stitch in her side that refused to budge.  
"I can't be off sick today. The swim meet is too important to miss! I just have to get through one day, and then I can take the weekend to be sick." She felt like hell, but she wasn't about to let the team down. She was anchor, and that position brought a lot of responsibility along with it.

"Have you spoken to Paige yet?" Knowing she wasn't going to talk Emily out of swimming she decided to change the subject. Emily had filled her in on the whole Maya being back thing.  
"No! She didn't call me back after I left her a message last night."  
"Maybe she just lost her phone?" Hanna suggested, ever the voice of reason.  
"She wasn't in English either. I think she's avoiding me…I don't get why she's mad at me for meeting Maya when it was _her _idea! I don't even want Maya back! I want Paige! She'd know that if she'd even bother to talk to me!" Emily huffed, her foul mood from earlier returning. She had barely said a word to the girls when they'd met before homeroom and she'd had a face like thunder all morning. Between arguing with Paige and feeling sick she wasn't in the best of moods. "Look, I've got to meet Mom and Dad for lunch, I'll see you this afternoon for the meet?"  
"Wouldn't miss it." Hanna reassured her. The girls always went to meets to support Emily; now they had Paige to cheer on too.

When Emily left to go meet her parents Hanna made her way to the canteen to meet up with Caleb and the girls. She'd just took a seat next to her boyfriend when Paige stalked up to the table like a bear with a sore head. "Have you seen Emily?"  
"Hello to you too Paige." Hanna quipped. "Her parents got back today so she's meeting them for lunch. She'd have told you herself but it seems you're not answering your phone." She glared at the other girl, trying to make a point. Paige was oblivious to the subtle dig, too preoccupied with talking to Emily.  
"Damn it!" She skulked off before the others could stop her.

"What was that about?" Spencer quizzed.  
"Oh, Emily's mad at Paige because she didn't return her call last night and she thinks it means Paige wants to break up."  
"Paige didn't have her phone last night; she left it at my house. I gave it back this morning but the battery was dead."  
"Oh." Hanna stared after Paige as she fled from the canteen. "In that case, one of us needs to call Em…right now." Spencer pulled out her phone, but frowned as she couldn't get through to Emily. Her phone just kept going through to voicemail.  
"Damn it, she's not picking up. I've got Biology with her this afternoon. Hopefully neither she nor McCullers would have said or done anything stupid before then!"

* * *

"Thanks for letting me skip this afternoon to spend time with you guys." Emily hugged her mom tightly as they stood outside the locker room. She'd spent the afternoon in The Brew, catching up with her parents. She'd almost let out a sigh of relief when her mom had suggested Emily miss her afternoon classes so they could catch up. It gave her more time to try and prepare for the meet and the pain in her side had started to subside a little. She could feel it returning though as she stood with her kitbag on her opposite side. "I'll see you guys afterwards."  
"Good luck kiddo, break a leg!" Wayne grinned as he pulled Emily in for a hug of her own.  
"Thanks Dad."

She waved them off as she pushed open the door of the locker room and ventured inside. She knew Paige would already be inside and she prepared herself for seeing her. She still hadn't worked out what Paige not calling her back meant, though worst case scenarios had been running through her mind all day. She found her girlfriend by her locker slipped past her to get to her own a couple down the row. "Hey." She greeted her tentatively as she slipped her bag of her shoulder and tried to ignore the jolt of pain that ran down her side.

Paige was already changed in to her costume and was pulling on her warm-ups. She'd spent the entire day trying to track Emily down to speak to her, and had even been late to her own class after lunch when she'd gone to Emily's classroom first. She'd thought Emily was avoiding her, and her skipping her afternoon classes after Paige had gone to the others looking for her at lunch pretty much proved it. "So now you're talking to me?" She snapped, unable to stop herself. She was at her wits end, worrying about what was going on between her and Emily, and what she would say to her dad after the meet. Then there was the meet itself. It was a pretty important event and she couldn't afford to mess it up. Everything was just getting too much for her and she was ready to blow.  
"That's rich coming from you!" Emily snapped right back and picked up her bag to move across to the other side of the locker room. One of the freshman girls looked a little alarmed as she slammed her bag down beside her and began pulling her stuff out. Her warm-ups were still in her locker, but she wasn't about to go back over there with Paige standing close by. If she did she was likely to say something she'd regret. She knew they were both stressed and under pressure to perform well in the swim meet. She'd wait until afterwards to try and get Paige to sit down and talk to her. Maybe a dip in the pool would be enough to calm both of their tempers.

Inside the natatorium the Rosewood home crowd were already filling the bleachers and in good spirits. Swimming was one of the few sports that Rosewood excelled at and the crowd roared with excitement as the team walked out. Emily froze as she spotted her parents sitting next to the McCullers and Paige walked straight in to the back of her. She put her hand on Emily's waist to steady herself, but quickly pulled it back as she spotted where her parents were sitting. Her mom waved at the two girls and her dad nodded his head towards her with a proud smile. "Don't look so scared. My parents don't know about us." Emily's tone was harsher than usual as she started stretching by the side of the pool. She just couldn't shift the stitch in her side.  
"My mom does." Paige muttered so quietly that Emily almost missed it.  
"What?"

"Emily, you're in lane one for the warm up, Paige you're in four!" The coach called over to her just as Emily turned to face Paige and she didn't get a chance to ask her to elaborate. She tried to clear her mind as she lined up with the rest of her team to get the warm up done, but it was a little difficult to concentrate with what Paige had just said to her. She'd told her mom about them. Did that mean she was ready for people to know about them? Did she still want there to be a 'them' even though she'd being acting up since Maya had come back? Emily couldn't process it, but she felt a warmth in the pit of her stomach that almost seemed to dull the pain in her side. It felt a lot like hope.

She didn't get a chance to talk to Paige between the warm up and the races starting. She and Paige were in a lot of them so it seemed one of them was always getting in the pool just as the other was getting out. Emily had given it her all in all of her own races and had managed to win most of them, though her times were far from her best with her side still hurting her. Paige has smashed all of her races. If there was one thing the girl was good at it was channelling her anger and confusion in to swimming. Emily shot her a smile as she climbed out of the pool and felt that little flutter in her stomach when she returned it. Maybe things weren't so bad between them after all. They just needed to sit down and talk things through. Emily had a lot to say to her and if Paige's earlier admission was anything to judge by then she did too.

Emily had the 100 butterfly coming up after Paige's race so she headed straight for the starting block. As she lined up she scanned the crowd and found both her mom and Lauren waving at her. She waved back, failing to notice Paige slipping away from the team's bench and heading over towards the door. "I don't think you're supposed to go to swim meets when you don't go to the school anymore." She snapped bitterly at Maya who was lounging casually against the door. Her eyes had been on Emily until Paige had stormed over. She wore an easy smile as she looked the other girl up and down.  
"There's no rule about not being able to come support my friend, is there?"  
"Is that what you are? Friends?" Paige felt bitter resentment building up inside of her as Maya grinned smugly. Did she know something she didn't? Was Emily going to break up with her? Was that why she was avoiding her?  
"You know what, I'm done with this." Maya pointed between the two of them as she pushed herself away from the door to take a seat in the bleachers, making it was clear she was staying. "I don't know why I'm even talking to you; Emily's already made up her mind anyway."

Paige saw red as her fists balled at her sides and her mouth went dry. She was practically shaking as she struggled to stop herself from lashing out at Maya. It wouldn't do her any good to get suspended from school for being in a fight. She somehow forced herself to turn around and head back to the bench to join the others. She saw Emily climbing out of the pool after coming second in the 100. She seemed to be wincing as she walked over to the bleachers, but Paige was too angry to think about it. According to Maya, Emily had already chosen. Paige didn't think she was going to like her decision, so she kept her eyes glued to the ground as Emily walked past her and tried to catch her eye. She was seething with anger and sadness and she needed to cling to the thought of there still being a 'her and Emily', or she was going to lose it.

"Em! Over here!" Spencer called out to her as she climbed down the bleachers. Emily slowly made her way over to meet her, trying to hide the pain she was in. She heard cheering as the 500 freestyle started and she chanced a look over her shoulder to see Paige out in front. "Hanna said you're mad at Paige for ignoring your call last night?" It sounded pathetic considering everything else that was going on and Emily started to regret not trying to talk to Paige earlier. Things seemed to have been blown out of proportion. Emily was supposed to be telling her that she loved her, not ignoring her for missing her call.  
"Yeah, about that-" She started, but Spencer cut her off.  
"She didn't have her phone on her! She was at my house last night and she left it there. Whatever's going on between you two, she's not ignoring you." Emily felt her heart sink as she realised how stupid she had been. She needed to clear things up; and fast. Paige was still swimming though and the 500 involved ten laps of the pool. Emily would have to wait a little longer. She slumped on to the team bench, her eyes never leaving Paige as she watched her leave the competition behind her.

It seemed like an age before the other girl was finally pulling herself up out of the water, but Paige had actually beaten her personal best and the rest of the team were crowing around her in congratulations. Emily tried to pull her aside. "Paige, can we talk? It's important-"  
"Not now, Em." Paige forced her voice to stay steady as she felt an ice cold dread wash over her. She was going to break up with her. She just knew it. She needed more time to think of something to say or do to make Emily change her mind. If there was one thing a McCullers was good at it was digging their heels in. "Please, I just…I can't right now." She pulled away from her and took her seat on the bench, ducking her head and refusing to look at Emily.  
"Paige-"

"Emily you're up for the 400 free!" Coach called over to her, interrupting her attempts at making things right. The 400 was a gruelling eight laps of freestyle and her side ached just thinking about it, but there was no one she could ask to take her place. Paige had just done the 500 freestyle and would be too exhausted for the upcoming relay if Emily asked her to do both. Few of the other girls could do such distances so the 500 and 400 were always left between Emily and Paige. She had been lucky to get the 400 in the first place. She tried to stretch it out as she waited for the other girls to get in to place.

She took a few deep breaths as she waited for the race to start. She hoped that if she could get a good lead at the start she wouldn't have to push herself so hard in the middle and she could conserve her energy for the last leg. When the whistle blew she dived in and pain tore through her chest and side, like someone had just ripped her open at the seams. The wobbly start had cost her any chance of a lead and she had to breathe through the pain as she raced to catch up to the others. She was halfway through her third leg when the pain became unbearable. She felt like her ribs were being squeezed apart and the pain was making her light headed. She heard Spencer and the other girls cheering her on, but it was her mother's voice that carried the loudest across the packed natatorium. More than anything in that moment Emily wanted her mom; and Paige. She wanted Paige to wrap her arms around her and take away the pain.

She stopped in the middle of the pool, the other girls far ahead of her. She couldn't do it anymore, every time she stretched her arm out for a stroke the pain was increasing tenfold. Just kicking her legs out to keep afloat was painful enough. "Em?" Paige was the first one to notice something was wrong. Despite what was going on between them, her eyes had never left Emily since she'd entered the water and she saw her struggling. The second her head ducked under the water Paige was jumping off the bench and running towards the pool. Other people started to realise something was wrong as Emily flailed in the water and went under a second time. Paige was already in the water by the time the lifeguard at the side of the pool noticed Emily was in trouble.

She was in one of the middle lanes, so Paige had to swim under the water to avoid the lane markers to reach her. The others swimmers had only just reached the other end of the pool and were starting back towards her and the lifegaurd had dived in on the other side, but Paige was the closest. Emily was depending on her and that knowledge had Paige moving through the water like a missile.

The other girl was struggling to keep her head above the water as the pain got too much for her. She couldn't carry on kicking, it hurt to breathe never mind kick her legs out. Her head slipped under the water again, following the rest of her body down below, and she couldn't find the strength to resurface again. The last thing she saw, before her eyes rolled to the back of her head, was Paige reaching out towards her. She lost consciousness just as one of Paige's arms wrapped around her waist and the other went under her chin to keep her head up as she pulled her back to the surface.

**A/N: So I know people are probably going to shout at me for ending the chapter there, but I'm working on the next one as we speak and this fic is my priority at the moment so it shouldn't be too long before I have the next one up! As ever thanks for reading and for the wonderful feedback. **


	11. Chapter 11

Paige was exhausted after her own long distance race and she was wearing her warm-ups which had become clogged down with water and were sticking to her skin. She had managed to get Emily's head safely above the water, but it was taking everything she had left in her just to keep them both afloat. Emily was unconscious so she was a complete dead weight as Paige kept her arms wrapped tightly around her, one under her chin keeping her head up. No matter what she wasn't about to let Emily go. The natatorium had descended in to chaos, with the crowd screeching and shouting. Pam Fields was by the edge of the pool, screaming for her baby. Wayne had his arms wrapped tightly around her to stop her from diving in. She would be no good to Emily in the water.

"I got her." Paige heard a voice behind her. It was the men's swim coach who acted as the lifeguard during the girl's meets. Paige felt him trying to take Emily from her. She instinctively tightened her grip on her girlfriend, reluctant to let go. She knew the coach was better trained and more capable of getting Emily out of the water than she was. She had no choice but to let him take her. He put his board under her and kept hold of her head as he started back towards the side of the pool. Paige swam ahead of him, pulling down the lane markers so he could swim past them without any hindrance. When they reached the edge of the pool Paige was pulled out by her father's strong arms.

She collapsed against him, panting for breath as she looked over at Emily. Lauren was crouched beside her, checking her pulse. Paige felt a flood of relief as she announced she had a pulse. She had never been so scared in her life than when she'd seen Emily go under. The water was supposed to be their safe place; something they shared. "Paige? Paige, look at me!" Her father snapped, catching her attention. She stared at him with a blank expression, unable to find the strength to be scared or alarmed. "How could you be so stupid? You're not trained in lifesaving! You could have put both of your lives at risk!" He wasn't mad. He was scared. Nick McCullers had watched his little girl dive in to the pool with little regard for her own safety, minutes after finishing the longest race in the competition and he had been terrified he was going to lose her.

"I love her, Dad." Paige finally admitted, letting go of her own fear. Emily was lying just feet away from her and nothing else in the world seemed to matter. Not even her father finding out she was gay. She watched as his eyes widened and he drew back from her. His shirt was damp from where she'd been pressed against him. She opened her mouth to try and say something else to him, but Hanna interrupted her as she flung her arms around Paige's neck. Aria and Spencer followed suit, almost crushing her. Lauren was keeping everyone but the Fields' back from Emily, so Paige was the only one the girls could turn to.  
"That was amazing, Paige!"  
"_You _are amazing McCullers." Spencer announced as she squeezed her tightly. Nick slipped away silently, leaving the girls to it.

Paige wasn't listening to them though. Her attention was on Emily as she watched her mother putting her in to the recovery position. Pam was hysterical beside her, with Wayne still clinging to her as they stared down at their baby girl. Shoving the girls off Paige scrambled over to Emily's side. She didn't care that half the school was watching her; she just needed to be near her girlfriend. She carefully stroked her hair back from her face, as though the other girl was so fragile that she was made of glass and the slightest touch could break her. "Please wake up…please Em! I don't care whether you choose me or Maya; I just need you to be ok. I need you to wake up baby…" She choked as she felt strong arms wrap around her and pull her in close; but they didn't belong to her mother. Pam Fields held her tight, as though she were holding her own daughter. She was still holding Paige when the paramedics arrived and her mother started describing what had happened.

"She was feeling sick a couple of days ago, but she said she was feeling better…and her side! She's been getting pains in her side for weeks." Paige added what she knew to what her mother had told the paramedics, hoping she could be of some help to Emily.  
"She's stable, but we need to get her to the hospital to run some tests. I'll ride with her to monitor her condition, Mr and Mrs Fields can you follow in your car?"  
"Of course." Wayne agreed, already taking hold of his wife again as the paramedics started loading Emily up on to the stretcher.  
"I want to go with her!" Paige protested as they started to move her. Her mother stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder.  
"There's no room in the ambulance and you can't put on to the Fields' like that. Tell your father to follow in the car." She pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before chasing after the paramedics.

The meet had been suspended and the natatorium had started to empty out as the Principal directed people to leave in a calm and orderly fashion. Paige spotted her dad sitting on the bleachers, holding his head in his hands, and she made her way over to him. "Can you give me a ride to the hospital? Please?" She faltered as he looked up at her with red raw eyes. He'd loosened his tie and shrugged off his suit jacket, leaving him in his wet shirt.  
"Sure, kiddo." He picked up his jacket and followed her out. He didn't say a word all the way out to the car and when they were finally sitting inside his SUV he just sat there, still as a statue behind the wheel. The ambulance with Emily in the back of it had already left and Paige was anxious to catch up to it.  
"Dad?" She urged, needing him to start the car. She was about half a second away from kicking him out and driving herself.

He didn't move a muscle to start the car though. His hands were gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning white and his jaw was clenched tight as he squinted through the windscreen. Paige felt her stomach drop. She didn't have time to deal with him. She had to get to Emily. "Listen Dad, I know-"  
"I'm sorry I shouted at you Paige. What you did was a very brave thing;_ Foolish_, but brave." Nick interrupted her before she could really start. "I understand you have very strong feelings for Miss Fields-"  
"Emily." Paige corrected.  
"Emily." He nodded, finally turning the key in the ignition. "I think I've been burying my head in the sand for a while now, and I can't begin to understand this…but I love you; regardless of whom _you_ love…Emily's a nice girl… she's a real looker too." He managed a small smile and Paige felt a matching one spreading across her face. She leant over and wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug.  
"Thanks Dad."

He put his foot down on the way to the hospital and they got there in record time. Paige asked a plump middle-aged woman behind the reception desk for information on Emily, but she refused to tell her anything since she wasn't family. "I'm her girlfriend good damn it!" Paige shouted, attracting the attention of a fair few people in the ER waiting room.  
"Paige, let's just find your Mom." Nick put a steadying hand on her shoulder as he pulled her away from the poor receptionist. It was one thing to accept Paige for what she was, but having her announce it in a room full of people wasn't something he was ready for. He turned his attention to the woman with an easy smile, the McCullers trademark, and his southern drawl was thicker than usual. "Excuse me ma'am? Could you please page my wife for me? It's, uh, Doctor McCullers. She's a surgical resident here.  
"Of course, sir." The woman returned his smile as she picked up the telephone receiver and put a call out for Dr McCullers to attend the ER.  
"Thank you kindly." He tipped his head towards her as he put a hand on the small of Paige's back and lead her over to one of the plastic chairs that littered the waiting room.

"Sometimes you got to know how to talk to a lady in order to get what you want." Nick wore a smug grin as he caught sight of his wife walking up to the receptionist desk.  
"Is that right?" Paige asked, doing her best impression of her dad's accent and drawing out her vowels. He laughed at her as he waved Lauren over. "Mom! How's Emily? Is she ok? What's wrong with her?"  
"She's doing fine." Lauren reassured her, doing her best to calm her daughter down as she took the seat beside her. "We're waiting on some test results, but we think Emily might have an ulcer. The symptoms fit. With the right course of treatment she should recover just fine. Her parents are in with her now, but I'll see if I can get you five minutes with her after visiting hours, ok?"  
"Thanks Mom."

Paige was sitting outside of Emily's hospital room a couple of hours later when Mr Fields walked out. She'd been camped out on the seat across the hall with a hot cup of coffee and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her mom had given her some of her scrubs to change in to so she was at least in dry clothes. "Paige." Wayne greeted her as he caught sight of her. "Have you been out here the whole time?"  
"Uh, yes sir. I just wanted to make sure Emily was ok." Paige flushed. She'd never really spoken to Emily's dad before.  
"Well she is, thanks to you." He held out his hand for her to shake and she stood up to take it. "Thank you."  
"I'd do it again." Paige assured him, meaning every word. "Your daughter means the world to me, sir."  
"Call me Wayne, and why don't you go do me a favour and sit with my wife? I'm going to go get us some coffee and I'd like someone watching over my girls." He smiled as he clapped Paige on the shoulder, giving his permission for her to go in to Emily's room. Paige thanked him before shuffling inside. She hovered by the door, unsure what Mrs Fields would say about her being there.

She was sat by a chair at Emily's bedside and she wore a tired smile as she ushered Paige to take the seat next to her. "Emily didn't mention she was seeing anyone?" There was no hint of accusation in Pam's voice. She had grown to accept her daughter's sexuality and was merely curious as to why Emily hadn't mentioned Paige to her. It was obvious the girl doted on her. She'd put her own life at risk to help her in the pool.  
"It's been kind of a recent thing…nobody really knows about us."  
"I hope you're not ashamed of my daughter?" Pam asked, though she was only teasing.  
"Trust me Mrs Fields, the only person I'm ashamed of is myself."  
"You shouldn't be too hard on yourself." Pam took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Emily obviously thinks a lot of you, and that's enough for me."

* * *

When Emily finally regained consciousness it was the middle of the night and she had to give her eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness in her hospital room. She was hooked up to a morphine drip so she could no longer feel any pain, but her body felt stiff and weak. Her eyes scanned the room and settled on Paige, curled up asleep on a chair beside her bed with a blanket wrapped around her. Emily managed a smile as she watched her sleep. She had known Paige wouldn't leave her side, just like she had known she would save her in the water. She hadn't been afraid when she'd finally passed out; she had known Paige was coming for her

Emily blinked against the light as the door opened slightly and a figure slipped inside. She stiffened, remembering Hanna's unwanted guest when she had been in the hospital. She was about to call out to warn Paige when she recognised her visitor. Lauren McCullers wore a warm and easy smile similar to her daughter's as she picked up Emily's chart. "Hi. Glad to see your back with us. How are you feeling?"  
"Can't feel a thing." Emily answered truthfully. She felt a little out of it from the drugs, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. "I guess I have you to thank for that. What happened to me anyway? I remember seizing up in the pool…it hurt so much to move…" She frowned at just the memory of the pain. It had all been too much for her to cope with.  
"We ran some tests and you have an ulcer. It would explain the pains you've had in your side for the last few weeks and the sickness the other day…Paige filled me in." She added as Emily's frown deepened. "With the right course of treatment you'll be fine in no time, though you might be out of the pool for a little bit."  
"An ulcer? Don't they come from stress or something?" If they did it was a miracle that Emily didn't have ten, between all of the stuff with Allison's disappearance, 'A' stalking her and Maya being back in town. Not to mention her on-again-off-again relationship with Paige.

"That's actually common misconception. Stomach ulcers tend to stem from an infection, so we've started you on some antibiotics to treat it and we'll give you some meds to treat the actual ulcer. We'll talk some more about your treatment program in the morning though. You should get some rest."  
"Has Paige been here all night?" Emily asked, though she could probably guess the answer.  
"Yeah. I manage to talk your parents in to going back to their hotel to get some sleep, but Paige wouldn't budge. She's definitely her father's daughter; stubborn as a mule and loyal as a sheep dog." Lauren smiled lovingly down at Paige as she shifted the blanket so it was covering her properly. She stirred a little bit, but her eyes never opened. It had been a long and exhausting day for her.

"How long have you known about us?" Emily's questioned, remembering that Paige had mentioned telling her mom about them.  
"I remember when we first moved here and Paige joined the swim team. You were all she talked about for weeks… I think I've known since then." Lauren smiled and looked over her shoulder to check Paige was still sleeping, as though they were sharing some big secret. "I'm glad she's happy Emily, and I guess I have you to thank for that." She squeezed her hand softly before turning to press a kiss to Paige's forehead. She slipped quietly out of the room, closing the door back over behind her.

"I told my dad too." Emily jumped as Paige sat up in the chair and rubbed at her eyes. She hadn't been sleeping after all. "I'm officially out."  
"Wow. Should I be worried about your dad trying to kill me?" Emily teased as she sat up and tried to get comfortable against the pillows.  
"Well, if he does you're in the best place for it." Paige laughed as she sat forward in her seat. She'd been curled up for hours and needed to stretch. "I'm sorry about earlier. I just wasn't ready to hear what you had to say…but it's ok. Maya told me you'd made your choice." Her gaze dropped to the floor as she ducked her head, unable to look Emily in the eye. She'd had a lot of time to think things over as she'd sat by Emily's bedside and she knew she couldn't be selfish with her. Part of loving someone was wanting them to be happy, and she wanted to see Emily happy; even if that meant giving her up to let her be with somebody else.

"She did?" Emily frowned and tried to sit up a little more. "So why were you so mad at me at the meet?"  
"Because you chose Maya." Paige replied, almost whining as she finally brought her gaze up to look Emily in the eye. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and Emily felt her heart breaking as she realised what was going on. She tried to climb out of the bed, but she didn't have the strength. Paige sprang to her feet and tried to settle her back down to stop her from hurting herself. Emily ended up grabbing her by the arms and clinging to her, afraid to let go in case she lost her for good.  
"What? No! Paige I chose you! I told Maya that! What did she say to you?"  
"She…she said there was no point in her arguing with me since you'd already made up your mind…I thought…"  
"Well, you thought wrong doofus!" Emily managed a smile as she realised she wasn't losing Paige. It had all been one big misunderstanding. "I was worried that maybe I would want Maya back if I spent some time with her, but when I met her the other night all I could think about was _you_."

"Wait, so why were _you _mad at _me_?" Paige felt a flood of relief wash over her, but there was still a little nagging doubt in the back of her mind. Maybe she still didn't believe that someone as amazing as Emily Fields could actually be interested in her; and could actually, maybe one day, love her back.  
"I called you Thursday night to tell you how I felt and to ask you to meet me for coffee before school Friday, but you never called back-"  
"Oh god! I left my phone at Spencer's when we were playing hockey! I swear to god Em, I wasn't ignoring you!" Paige gushed, her words coming out thick and fast as she tried to explain herself.

"Relax, Spencer told me about your phone at the meet just before you did your 500. That was when I tried to talk to you to clear things up-"  
"And that was just after I'd talked to Maya." Paige sighed, realisation crashing down over her. "God Em, I'm so sorry I let things get this screwed up!"  
"We both did." Emily objected. She shuffled over to the other side of her hospital bed and tugged on Paige's hand. Paige got the message and climbed in beside her, draping the blanket she had over both of them. It felt good to be lying in a bed after spending hours sitting in the hard plastic chair. She wrapped her arm around Emily as her girlfriend leant in to rest her head on her chest. Emily's skin was soft and warm under Paige's fingers and she took in a deep breath, inhaling Emily's scent mixed with the smell of the pool; two of her favourite things in life.

"Paige?" Emily mumbled softly against her neck after a while; when Paige had actually thought she'd fallen asleep.  
"Yeah?" She muttered back just as softly, close to falling asleep herself with her arms wrapped around the other girl.  
"I love you."

**A/N: ** **So I promised to update quickly and hopefully two days wasn't too long to wait for Paige to come to the rescue! That's pretty much it for this fic (except for an epilogue I hope to have up in the next few days, which may or may not include a Fields/McCullers family dinner…) I know this hasn't been very long but I was only planning on getting 3 chapters out of it at most so I think I've done pretty well to get it to 11! I'm currently working on another Paily fic which is a few chapters in (My Soul to Keep) as well as 3 or 4 that are still in development but should be up once I finish a few things off, and they should all be pretty long multi-chapter fics.**

**Thanks for reading and for the great feedback people have left. I'd only been watching PLL for a week before I started writing this and I'm glad my first attempt at some Paily has had such a good reaction.**

**Trufreak. **


	12. Chapter 12

"Go Paige! Whooo!" Paige McCullers grimaced as she leant against the edge of the pool and pushed her swimming goggles up on top of her head. She tossed a half-hearted wave at Hanna, who had started coming to practises and meets to keep Emily company while she sat on the bench. The blonde had seemingly become her one woman fan club. Paige diverted her attention to the spot beside the blonde, where her girlfriend was sitting holding a stopwatch and giving her a thumbs up to indicate she'd beaten her personal best. A grin spread across her lips as she hoisted herself up out of the pool and made her way over to the bleachers to join her friends.

It had been almost a month since Emily had collapsed with her ulcer at their last meet and the other girl still wasn't allowed back in the water for practise. It was killing her to sit on the side lines and watch her team training, but Paige always tried to include her by getting her to time her or asking for a critique of her performance. "How'd I look?" She asked as she flopped down on the bench beside Emily, deliberately flicking her wet hair towards the other girl and earning a shove.  
"Gorgeous…the swimming wasn't too bad either." Emily laughed as she leant in against the other girl, not caring that her skin was still damp from the pool; or that the entire swim team was present as she went in for a kiss. Paige happily obliged, kissing her back until Hanna awkwardly cleared her throat.

"Hey, third wheel over here."  
"Sorry Han." Paige apologised but didn't it sound like she even remotely meant it. Since coming out to her parents she had been free to kiss Emily anywhere and anytime she wanted and no one could make her feel bad about that. The blonde's nickname rolled off her tongue with ease after having spent weeks with Emily and her friends. Paige had always been a little dubious about Allison's little group, but surprisingly the other three girls had been nothing but nice to her; even Hastings. They had all rallied around Emily in her time of need and Paige had found herself included in the fold for once. It felt nice. To have friends who cared about her. Hanna in particular had taken a shine to her. She spent so much time with the pair of them that it was like Emily was still living with her. She was in fact living in her own house again, going to bed in her own room and not having to share her space with anyone; save for Paige since her girlfriend had practically spent every day with her since she'd gotten out of the hospital.

"Nice timings there Paige." Coach Fulton grinned as she walked over to greet her star swimmers, a clipboard in hand with all of Paige's timings for the day. Emily had been helping her keep scores for all of the girls and it was a running joke that she was assistant coach. "I hope you're nearly ready to come back Emily, your girl's on your heels with her times." She teased, making Paige blush as she ducked her head. After her parents she had been most worried about what the coach and the team would think of her and Emily, but the other girls had been nothing but nice. Everyone wanted to see Emily back in the water and the star couple working as starter and anchor again.

"It shouldn't be too much longer Coach. Paige's tutor is going to give me a few hydrotherapy sessions." Emily squeezed Paige's hand with a smile, but in reality Paige had had nothing to do with the arrangement. It had been her dad who'd suggested using her private swim coach to help get Emily back on the team. He had made out like it was all because getting Emily back in the water would help Paige's performance as well as attract potential scouts; but Paige saw right through his front. He had a soft spot for the girl and Emily had become a welcome addition in their house.  
"Great. We can't wait to have you back. We need someone to keep McCullers on form." The other woman winked before leaving them to it as Paige began protesting that her performance had improved, not slipped.

"She's only teasing sweetie." Emily soothed Paige's wounded pride, not wanting her to sulk for the rest of the night. "Now go get changed or we'll be late."  
"Yes ma'am." Paige gave her a mock salute and a quick kiss to the cheek before scampering off to join the rest of the team in the changing rooms.  
"Oh yeah, it's the big _family _dinner tonight, isn't it?" Hanna grinned, knowing Emily had been stressing about it all week. Her parents had been busy settling back in to the house, but Lauren McCullers had finally managed to get them over for dinner so the girls would be spending their Friday night sharing a dinner table with their parents.

"Is it too late to back out?" Emily groaned in to her hands. The last time her mom and Paige's dad had had any kind of extended conversation it had been when Pam had been calling him out in the middle of the school hallway. They'd spoken briefly since Emily and Paige's relationship had come to light and they were on civil enough terms, but Emily was still worrying over what the night would hold.  
"It could be worse." Hanna tried to cheer her up. "You could be dating _Toby,_ and then you'd have to have family dinner with his dad and _Jenna_." Emily smiled at that. Despite Nick McCullers' obvious flaws he had been nothing but kind to her since she'd fallen ill. He'd been a little frosty when he'd first found out that Emily was dating his daughter, and he'd adopted a similar open door policy to Pam, but he was warming up to Emily; and Paige's mom was just plain awesome. Hanna was right, it could definitely be worse. Spencer had lucked out in the in-laws department.  
"Poor Spencer." She agreed absently.

All thoughts of Spencer were forgotten though as Paige walked back out on deck, her still growing bangs hanging loose from her wet ponytail and framing her adorable smile. Emily often caught her looking at her wearing that goofy smile, like Emily was some big prize in the grand scheme of things and Paige had hit the jackpot. It made her feel warm inside, to know that someone cared about her so much. Things with Paige were far different to how they had been with Allison or Maya; she didn't tease her or play hot and cold with her. She looked at her with such wide eyed adoration that Emily didn't need to hear her say that she loved her; one look at Paige when she was wearing that smile and her feelings were clear for the whole world to see.

Emily wore a wide smile of her own as she got to her feet and went to sling her bag over her shoulder. Paige intercepted though, taking it from her and carrying it on her shoulder along with her backpack. "Paige, you don't have to carry my stuff anymore." Emily rolled her eyes at just how chivalrous the other girl always had to be. When Emily had first gone back to school she hadn't been allowed to lift anything or overdo it, so Paige had insisted on carrying everything for her; a habit she was reluctant to let go of.  
"I know. I want to." She insisted, lacing the fingers of her free hand through Emily's. "Come on then Superstar, we've got a dinner to get to. See you Han."  
"Have fun you two!

* * *

"Hi girls, how was practise?" Lauren greeted the pair of them as they walked in to the kitchen. Emily could already smell dinner cooking and her stomach was grumbling. Knowing her all too well, Paige tossed her an apple from the fruit bowl on the table to keep her sugar levels up.  
"It was great. We're definitely ready for the meet next month, and hopefully Em will be too." Paige beamed, optimistic that Emily would be back in training in time to take part in the next meet.  
"Maybe." Emily agreed. She was certainly feeling a lot better in herself, though she still had the occasional twinge in her side. It would take a few sessions with Paige's coach before her body was back to peak performance.  
"Well don't overdo it." Lauren warned, slipping from mom-mode to doctor-mode in the blink of an eye.  
"I won't." Emily promised. The other woman was like a second mother to her and she'd gone out of her way to help Emily when she'd fallen ill. "Can we help with anything?" She offered, but Lauren brushed her off.  
"Thanks, but it's all taken care of. I'll give you girls a shout when your parents get here Emily."

Paige was relieved when they were able to slip away and head upstairs. The second her door was shut behind them she dropped their bags to the floor and pulled Emily in for a long linger kiss. "What was that for?" Emily laughed as they finally pulled apart and she took a seat on Paige's bed. The other girl shrugged as she stood in front of her, holding her hands in her own.  
"Does there have to be a reason?"

"No. I guess not." Emily's grin widened as she tugged on the front of Paige's shirt, pulling her down on to her lap to kiss her some more. "Do you know this is the first time we've been alone since…Tuesday?" Emily sighed against Paige's lips as her arms wrapped around her waist.  
"Yeah." Paige replied breathlessly, reluctant to stop kissing the other girl long enough to answer her. She still hadn't gotten used to being able to kiss Emily when she wanted, to take her in the middle of the street, to run her fingers along the other girl's spine from under her t-shirt. Emily shuddered and arched in to her touch. They had both been growing more confident in their caresses and they had definitely been heading somewhere new Tuesday night; until Nick had knocked on the door to remind them that it was a school night and Emily couldn't stay over. They hadn't had a minute alone since then, between swim practise and Hanna shadowing them everywhere. "You could stay tonight? It's not a school night."

"Hmm, but who gets the camp-bed?" Emily teased. Nick still insisted on bringing up the little fold out camping bed and a sleeping bag, even though he knew full well neither girl slept in it. Ignorance was bliss in a father's eyes.  
"It's definitely your turn." Paige mumbled, preoccupied with pressing her lips to the column of Emily's throat. The other girl pouted as she let Paige push her back down against her bed.  
"But my side hurts. I think I should get the bed."  
"Me too." Paige agreed, her lips reaching Emily's collarbone as her hands trailed along her sides. "Want me to look at it?" She offered, her skilful fingers already kneading at the knot of muscles in Emily's side.  
"Paige…" Emily groaned as the other girl unexpectedly dropped her head to kiss at her side, pushing her t-shirt up out of her way to expose Emily's tanned flesh to her lips. The tension in her side dropped a lot lower. "My parents are due over any minute." If Paige didn't stop doing what she was doing there was no way they were going to make it down for dinner; and both Nick and Pam would probably be implementing something stricter than an open door policy if they caught them.

Paige let out a frustrated growl as she forced herself to pull back. "You are staying over tonight though?" There was more to her question than simply wanting to confirm Emily was spending the night. Her girlfriend nodded without hesitation as she sat up to kiss her again. "Dinner had better be over quickly." She grumbled, wanting nothing more than to lock her door and forget all about Friday night dinner with their parents.

When Mr and Mrs Fields finally turned up, Wayne carrying a bottle of expensive wine and Pam wearing her best dress, the girls had no choice but to join the adults in the living room. The six of them made small talk as they waited for dinner to finish cooking. It wasn't quite as painstaking as Emily had thought it would be. Their parents, though more acquaintances than friends, managed to get on pretty well and there were no awkward silences to fill. Nick was busy singing the praises of the coach he'd hired for Paige, when Lauren finally announced that dinner was ready and they all headed in to the dining room.

They bowed their heads as Nick said grace, though Emily used this as an excuse to peek over at Paige while nobody was looking. She looked ready to jump out of her seat at any moment and it didn't help matters much as Emily ran her foot up her ankle. She shot her girlfriend a sideways glare that promised her a world of trouble if she didn't quit it. It just encouraged Emily all the more and by the time the desert bowls were being cleared away Paige was about ready to crack. Patience was not the other girl's strong point and she had been waiting a _very _long time for Emily. She barely bit back a groan as her mother suggested coffee and they all made their way back to the living room.

There weren't enough seats for them all, so Paige ended up sitting at Emily's feet on the floor in front of the couch, hyperaware of the other girl's hand resting on her shoulder; the pad of her thumb idly tracing circles against the back of her neck. The night seemed to stretch on forever, like some cruel form of punishment. Eventually Pam stifled a small yawn and looked at her watch. "We should be getting home. Emily are you coming home tonight?"  
"Is it ok if I stay over?" She directed her question towards the McCullers, who thankfully didn't put up any objection. Emily had spent most weekends over at Paige's house since they'd started dating and that hadn't changed much, even when her parents had moved back to Rosewood. "Of course you can dear." Lauren tended to be a lot more relaxed with the girls than Pam was and she even managed to stop Nick from checking in on them every five minutes.

They said goodbye to Emily's parents and then goodnight to Paige's before both girls scrambled upstairs. Paige left her door open slightly, knowing that if it was closed over with her dad around it would only serve to attract him to interrupt them. She'd need to leave it open a bit, at least until her parents went to bed. The pair of them changed for bed, Emily getting her pyjamas out of the drawer that Paige had cleared for her one weekend without really thinking about it, before climbing under the covers and curling up together to watch a movie.

Paige's impatient hands began running up and down Emily's back and sides, massaging the taught muscles just beneath her skin. The dark haired girl let out a contented sigh as she rolled on to her front and craned her neck, giving Paige better access to her shoulders. She loved it when Paige touched her like that. Sometimes she wouldn't even have to massage Emily's aching muscles, she would just have to lie there rubbing her back all night and she would have Emily purring like a cat lying out in the sunshine.

"It's snowing again." Emily smiled as she caught sight of the white flakes falling outside of Paige's window. Paige followed her gaze, watching as the snowfall picked up and the flakes settled on the ground, beginning to dust the world outside in a fresh blanket of crisp white snow. She had never been very keen on the snow, or the cold weather at all, but as Emily shuffled back to lean further in to her for warmth she couldn't help but think about the night that had led them to where they were. Her lips curled up in to a smile as she heard her parents climbing the stairs to go to bed and she leant over to press a kiss to Emily's shoulder blade. Winter was definitely her new favourite time of year.

**A/N: So that's it folks! Once again many thanks to everyone who has been reading and for all the great feedback! I'm definitely going to be getting more active in this fandom and hope to have some more Paily fics up as soon as I finish a few other ones off. In the meantime I'm still working on 'My Soul to Keep', which will be my new priority now this is finished. **


End file.
